MR.  BRYAN  AT  VARIOUS 


7,    f  -  C^L* .  ^  <ts  4^Vi£ 

U  L'.^/-      Vi*  /i  >  S' 

^  p 

Speeches  of 
William  Jennings  Bryan 

Revised  and  Arranged  by  Himself 


9- 


WITH  A  BIOGRAPHICAL  INTRODUCTION 
BY  MARY  BAIRD  BRYAN,  HIS  WIFE 


In  Two  Volumes 
VOLUME  II 


2(4 


FUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  and  LONDON 

1913 


o 

/•  ^ 


•)? 


COPYRIGHT,  1909,  BY 

WILLIAM  JENNINGS  BRYAN 

Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 

Published  November,  1909 


He  who,  from  zone  to  zone, 

Guides  through  the  boundless  sky  thy  certain  flight, 
In  the  long  way  that  I  must  tread  alone, 

Will  lead  my  steps  aright. 

— William  Cullen  Bryant. 


259509 


CONTENTS 

VOLUME  II 

POLITICAL  SPEECHES 

PAGE 

L  Counting  a   Quo  mm    (1804)     .         .        .         .         3 

II.  Nabotli's    Vineyard     (1898)       ....         6 

III.  America's    Mission    (1890)  <,   '   .         .         .         .         !) 

IV.  Imperialism     (1900)    *'• 17 

V.  The  St.  T,ouis  Convention    (1904)     .         .         .50 

VI.  At  the  New  York  Reception   (1906).         .         .       63 

VII.  Government    Ownership  (1906).         ...       92 

VIII.  Shall    the   People   Rule?     (1908)       .         .         .100 

IX.— The   Trust  Question    (1908)      ....     120 

X.(  Guaranteed   Deposits    (190S)      ....     143 

XL  In  Chicago  on  Labor  Day   (1908)     ...     104 

XII.  The  State  and  the  Nation  (1908)     .         .        .181 

SPEECHES  IN  FOREIGN  LANDS 

I.     Patriotism   (Havana,  Cuba,  in  1902)       .         .     191 
II.     In  London  on  Thanksgiving  Day  (1903).         .     196 

III.     Radical    and    Conservative    (Tokyo,    Japan,    in 

1905) .205 

j/IV.     The  White  Man's  Burden   (London,  in  1906).     212 
At  the  Peace  Congress  (London,  in  1906).         .     226 
vn 


vin  CONTENTS 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  SPEECHES 

PAGE 

I.  The  Value  of  an  Ideal   (1901).        .        .        .235 

II.  The   Prince   of   Peace    (1904)           .        .        .261 

III.  Man    (1905) 291 

IV.  Missions    (1906)         ...'...     315 
V.     Faith    (1907) 329 

VI.    The  Price  of  a  Soul   (1908)     .        .        »        .    337 


MISCELLANEOUS  SPEECHES 

I.     Character   (1881) 373 

II.     Gray's   Elegy    (1890) 381 

III.  Memorial  Day  at  Arlington  (1894)  .        .        .  384 

IV.  At  His  Reception  in  Lincoln    (1906)       .         .  $89 

V.     The  Conservation   of   National   Resources    (At 

the  White  House    Conference  of  1908).     .  397 

VI.     Commerce     (At    the    Taft-Bryan    Banquet    of 

1908) 406 

VII.    To  His  Neighbors  (1908) 415 

VIII.     Lincoln  as  an  Orator  (At  the  One  Hundredth 

Anniversary  of  Lincoln's  Birth,  1909).         .  419 

IX.     Dreamers   (1906) .426 


POLITICAL  SPEECHES 


I 

COUNTING  A  QUORUM 

Delivered  in  Congress  on  April  17,  1894,  in  opposing  the 
adoption  of  a  rule  which  permitted  the  counting  of  a  quorum. 

MR.  SPEAKER:    I  am  obliged  to  the  gentle 
man  from  Maine  for  this  courtesy.    The 
question  upon  which  we  are  called  to  act 
is  one  of  a  great  deal  more  importance  than  some 
members  seem  to  think,  and  the  objection  which  is 
made  to  the  rule  by  some  of  us,  who  have  not  been 
able  to  favor  it,  is  based  upon  reasons  far  more 
weighty  than  gentlemen  have  assumed. 

The  constitution  of  the  State  of  Nebraska,  which 
I  have  the  honor  in  part  to  represent,  contains  this 
provision : 

"No  bill  shall  be  passed  unless  by  assent  of  a  majority 
of  all  the  members  elected  to  each  house  of  the  Legislature, 
and  the  question  upon  the  final  passage  shall  be  taken  im 
mediately  upon  its  last  reading,  and  the  yeas  and  nays 
shall  be  entered  upon  the  journal." 

The  constitutions  of  a  majority  of  the  States  of 
the  Union,  among  them  the  States  of  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Ohio,  and  I  might 
name  them  all  if  time  permitted,  provide  the  same, 
the  object  being  to  prevent  less  than  one-half  of 
all  the  members  elected  to  the  Legislature  from 
passing  laws.  It  is  only  by  the  concurrence  of  a 
majority  of  the  members  that  we  can  know  that 
the  majority  of  the  people  desire  the  law.  The 

(3) 


4  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

Constitution  of  the  United  States  does  not  contain 
a  similar  provision ;  and  there  is  no  question,  since 
the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court,  that  it  is  within 
the  power  of  this  House  to  declare  by  rule  in  what 
manner  a  quorum  may  be  ascertained.  It  can  be 
done  in  the  manner  provided  in  this  rule,  or  it  can 
be  done  by  the  call  of  the  yeas  and  nays,  as  it  has 
been  done  for  a  hundred  years.  Now,  the  question 
with  me  is  this:  which  is  the  safer  plan?  Accord 
ing  to  the  rule  which  has  been  in  vogue  a  hundred 
years,  the  minority  has  the  safeguard  which  is  ex 
pressly  secured  in  the  constitutions  of  a  majority 
of  the  States ;  according  to  the  old  rule  the  minor 
ity,  by  refusing  to  vote,  can  compel  the  concurrence 
of  a  majority  before  a  law  is  passed. 

Now,  I  believe  that  is  a  wise  provision.  I  do  not 
see  why  it  is  wiser  in  a  State  than  in  Congress;  I 
do  not  know  why  it  is  necessary  that  the  members 
of  the  Legislature  in  my  State,  or  in  New  York, 
should  be  compelled  to  vote  yea  or  nay  when  a  bill 
shall  pass,  and  that  a  majority  shall  concur,  unless 
the  same  reasons  apply  in  this  body. 

We  are  asked  to  change  this  rule,  which  has  been 
in  operation  since  the  beginning  of  the  Govern 
ment,  and  adopt  a  new  rule;  a  rule  not  intended 
to  enable  the  majority  to  rule,  but  to  enable  less 
than  one-half  of  the  members  of  Congress  to  pass 
laws  for  this  country.  I  believe  that  the  innova 
tion  is  a  dangerous  one.  There  is  far  more  safety 
in  giving  to  the  minority  the  power  to  delay  legis 
lation  until  a  majority  have  expressed  themselves 
in  favor  of  a  law.  How  can  you  tell  that  the  peo 
ple  of  the  United  States  desire  a  particular  law 


COUNTING  A  QUORUM  5 

except  by  the  voice  of  their  representatives;  and 
how  can  we  tell  that  their  representatives  believe 
the  bill  should  become  a  law  until  they  have  ex- 
prest  themselves  by  vote  in  favor  of  the  proposi 
tion?  The  naked  question  brought  before  us  by 
this  rule  is:  "Shall  we  so  make  our  rules  that  the 
minority  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  may 
make  the  laws,  or  shall  we  retain  the  rule  which 
enables  us  to  compel  the  concurrence  of  a  majority 
when  it  seems  of  sufficient  importance?" 

Of  course  the  right  to  remain  silent  can  be  used 
to  filibuster,  but  we  have  a  rule  which  shuts  off 
filibustering  when  a  majority  desires  to  vote.  We 
have  it  in  the  power  of  the  House — and  I  think  it 
is  a  wise  provision — to  put  an  end  to  dilatory  mo 
tions  and  to  bring  the  House  to  a  vote  when  the 
majority  so  desires,  but  a  rule  to  count  a  quorum 
is  not  designed  to  facilitate  the  government  of  a 
majority,  but  to  enable  the  representatives  of  a 
minority  of  the  people  to  do  business  and  make 
laws. 


II 

NABOTH'S    VINEYARD 

Delivered  at  Denver,  Colo.,  in  the  winter  of  1898-9,  and 
one  of  the  earliest  protests  made  against  colonialism. 

THE  Bible  tells  us  that  Ahab,  the  king,  wanted 
the  vineyard  of  Naboth  and  was  sorely 
grieved  because  the  owner  thereof  refused 
to  part  with  the  inheritance  of  his  fathers.  Then 
followed  a  plot,  and  false  charges  were  preferred 
against  Naboth  to  furnish  an  excuse  for  getting 
rid  of  him. 

' '  Thou  shalt  not  covet ! "  "  Thou  shalt  not  bear 
false  witness]; '  * '  Thou  shalt  not  kill '  '—three  com 
mandments  broken,  and  still  a  fourth,  "Thou 
shalt  not  steal,"  to  be  broken  in  order  to  get  a  little 
piece  of.grQund!  And  what  was  the  result?  When 
the  king  went  forth  to  take  possession,  Elijah,  that 
brave  .old.  prophet  of  the  early  days,  met  him  and 
pronounced  against  him  the  sentence  of  the  Al 
mighty.  "In  the  place  where  the  dogs  licked  the 
blood  of  Naboth  shall  the  dogs  lick  thy  blood,  even 
thine." 

Neither  his  own  exalted  position  nor  the  lowly 
station  of  his  victim  could  save  him  from  the  aveng 
ing  hand  of  outraged  justice.  His  case  was  tried 
in  a  court  where  neither  wealth,  nor  rank,  nor 
J>ower,  could  shield  the  transgressor. 

Wars  of  conquest  have  their  origin  in  covetous- 
(6) 

\  v  / 


NABOTH'S  VINEYARD  7 

ness,  and  the  history  of  the  human  race  has  been 
written  in  characters  of  blood  because  rulers  have 
looked  with  longing  eyes  upon  the  lands  of  others. 

Covetousness  is  prone  to  seek  the  aid  of  false  pre 
tense  to  carry  out  its  plans,  but  what  it  cannot 
secure  by  persuasion  it  takes  by  the  sword. 

Senator  Teller's  amendment  to  the  intervention 
resolution  saved  the  Cubans  from  the  covetousness 
of  those  who  are  so  anxious  to  secure  possession 
of  the  island,  that  they  are  willing  to  deny  the 
truth  of  the  declaration  of  our  own  Congress,  that 
"the  people  of  Cuba  are,  and  of  right  ought  to 
be,  free." 

Imperialism  might  expand  the  nation's  territory, 
but  it  would  contract  the  nation's  purpose.  It  is 
not  a  step  forward  toward  a  broader  destiny;  it  is 
a  step  backward,  toward  the  narrow  views  of  kings 
and  emperors. 

Dr.  Taylor  has  aptly  exprest  it  in  his  "Creed  of 
the  Flag, ' '  when  he  asks :  . 

Shall   we  turn   to   the  old   world  again 

With  the  penitent  prodigal's  cry?  ^_ 

I  answer,  never.'  This  republic  is  not  a  prodigal 
son ;  it  has  not  spent  its  substance  in  riotous  living. 
It  is  not  ready  to  retrace  its  steps  and,  with  shamed 
face  and  trembling  voice,  solicit  an  humble  place 
among  the  servants  of  royalty.  It  has  not  sinned 
against  heaven,  and  God  grant  that  the  crowned 
heads  of  Europe  may  never  have  occasion  to  kill 
the  fatted  calf  to  commemorate  its  return  from 
reliance  upon  the  will  of  the  people  to  dependence 
upon  the  authority  which  flows  from  regal  birth 
or  superior  force. 


8  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

We  cannot  afford  to  enter  upon  a  colonial  policy. 
The  theory  upon  which  a  government  is  built  is  a 
matter  of  vital  importance.  The  national  idea  has 
a  controlling  influence  upon  the  thought  and  char 
acter  of  the  people.  Our  national  idea  is  self- 
government,  and  unless  we  are  ready  to  abandon 
that  idea  forever  we  cannot  ignore  it  in  dealing 
with  the  Filipinos. 

That  idea  is  entwined  with  our  traditions.;  it 
permeates  our  history:  it  is  a  part  of  our  litera 
ture. 

That  idea  has  given  eloquence  to  the  orator  and 
inspiration  to  the  poet.  Take  from  our  national 
hymns  the  three  words,  free,  freedom  and  liberty, 
and  they  would  be  as  meaningless  as  would  be  our 
flag  if  robbed  of  its  red,  white  and  blue. 

Other  nations  may  dream  of  wars  of  conquest 
and  of  distant  dependencies  governed  by  external 
force ;  not?  so  with  the  United  States. 

The  fruits  of  imperialism,  be  they  bitter  or 
sweet,  must  be  left  to  the  subjects  of  monarchy. 
This  is  the  one  tree  of  which  the  citizens  of  a  re 
public  ^y  not  partake.  It  is  the  voice  of  the  ser 
pent,  nOT  the  voice  of  God,  that  bids  us  eat. 


Ill 

AMERICA'S   MISSION 

Delivered  iu  Washington,  D.  C.,  before  the  Virginia  Dem 
ocratic  Association,  on  Feb.  22,  181)0,  when  political  parties 
were  just  beginning  to  take  a  position  on  the  subject  of 
imperialism. 

WHEN  the  advocates  of  imperialism  find  iij 
impossible  to  reconcile  a  colonial  policyl 
with  the  principles  of  our  government  or> 
with  the  canons  of  morality;  when  they  are  unablej 
rto  defend  it  npon_the  ground  of  religious  duty  ori 
pecuniary  profit,  they  fall  back  in  helpless  despair 
upon  the  assertion  that  it  is  destiny.  "Suppose  it 
does  violate  the  Constitution, "  they  say;  "suppose 
it  does  break  all  the  commandments ;  suppose  it  does 
entail  upon  the  nation  an  incalculable  expendi 
ture  of  blood  and  money ;  it  is  destiny  and  we  must 
submit. ' ' 

The  people  have  not  voted  for  imperialism;  no 
national  convention  has  declared  for  it;  no  Con 
gress  has  passed  upon  it.  To  whom,  then,  has  the 
future  been  revealed?  Whence  this  voice  of  au 
thority?  We  can  all  prophesy,  but  our  prophecies 
are  merely  guesses,  colored  by  our  hopes  and  our 
surroundings.  Man's  opinion  of  what  is  to  be  is 
half  wish  and  half  environment.  Avarice  paints 
destiny  with^a ^  Hnlfcr  m^rlr  before  it ;  mjljtarisjn. 
equips  it  with  a,  sword. 

He  Is'  ffie  best  prophet  who,  recognizing  the  om- 
(9) 


10  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

nipotence  of  truth,  comprehends  most  clearly  the 
V  greatforces  which  are_working  out  flie  progress, 
not^oT"one  party,  not  of  7>ne  nation",  buFof  the 
|]\rrT|fln  race. 

History  is  replete  with  predictions  which  once 
wore  the  hue  of  destiny,  but  which  failed  of  ful 
filment  because  those  who  uttered  them  saw  too 
small  an  arc  of  the  circle  of  events,  HVhen  Pharaoh 
pursued  the  fleeing  Israelites  to  the  edge  of  the 
Red  Sea  he  was  confident  that  their  bondage  would 
be  renewed  and  that  they  would  again  make  bricks 
without  straw,  but  destiny  was  not  revealed  until 
Moses  and  his  followers  reached  the  farther  shore 
dry  shod  and  the  waves  rolled  over  the  horses  and 
chariots  of  the  Egyptians.  When  Belshazzar,  on 
the  last  night  of  his  reign,  led  his  thousand  lords 
into  the  Babylonian  banquet  hall  and  sat  down  to 
a  table  glittering  with  vessels  of  silver  and  gold, 
he  felt  sure  of  his  kingdom  for  many  years  to  come, 
but  destiny  was  not  revealed  until  the  hand  wrote 
upon  the  wall  those  awe-inspiring  words,  "Mene, 
Mene,  Tekel  Upharsin."  When  Abderrahman 
swept  northward  with  his  conquering  hosts  his 
imagination  saw  the  Crescent  triumphant  through 
out  the  world,  but  destiny  was  not  revealed  until 
Charles  Mart  el  raised  the  cross  above  the  battle 
field  of  Tours  and  saved  Europe  from  the  sword  of 
Mohammedanism.  When  Napoleon  emerged  vic 
torious  from  Marengo,  from  Ulm  and  from  Auster- 
litz,  he  thought  himself  the  child  of  destiny,  but 
destiny  was  not  revealed  until  Blucher's  forces 
joined  the  army  of  Wellington  and  the  vanquished 
Corsican  began  his  melancholy  march  toward  St. 


AMERICA'S  MISSION  11 

Helena.  When  the  redcoats  of  George  the  Third 
routed  the  New  Englanders  at  Lexington  and 
Bunker  Hill  there  arose  before  the  British  sov 
ereign  visions  of  colonies  taxed  without  representa 
tion  and  drained  of  their  wealth  by  foreign-made 
laws,  but  destiny  was  not  revealed  until  the  sur 
render  of  Cornwallis  completed  the  work  begun 
at  Independence  Hall  and  ushered  into  existence 
a  government  deriving  its  just  powers  from  the 
consent  of  the  governed!? 

We  have  reached  another  crisis.  The  ancientu 
doctrine  of  imperialism,  banished  from  our  land  I 
more  than  a  century  ago,  has  recrossed  the  Atlantic  1 
and  challenged  democracy  to  mortal  combat  upon  I 
American  soil. 

Whether  the  Spanish  war  shall  be  known  in 
history  as  RW^T  foiUiiwtxLnr  q§  fl  \v^y  of  «>nnfjuest ; 
whether  the  principles  of  self-government  shall  be 
strengthened  or  abandoned;  whether  this  nation 
shall  remain  a  homogeneous  republic  or  become  a 
heterogeneous  empire — these  questions  must  be  an 
swered  by  the  American  people — when  they  speak, 
and  not  until  then,  will  destiny  be  revealed. 

Destiny  is  not  a  matter  of  chance ;  it  is  a  matter 
of  choice;  it  is  not  a  thing  to  be  waited  for,  it  is 
a'Xhing  to  be  achieved. 

N^>  one  can  see  the  end  from  the  beginning,  but 
every  one  can  make  his  course  an  honorable  one 
from  beginning  to  end,  by  adhering  to  the  right 
under  all  circumstances.  Whether  a  man  steals 
much  or  little  may  depend  upon  his  opportunities, 
but  whether  he  steals  at  all  depends  upon  his  own 
volition. 


12  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

So  with  our  nation.  If  we  embark  upon  a  career 
of  conquest  no  one  can  tell  how  many  islands  we 
may  be  able  to  seize  or  how  many  races  we  may 
be  able  to  subjugate;  neither  can  any  one  estimate 
the  cost,  immediate  and  remote,  to  the  Nation's 
purse  and  to  the  Nation's  character,  but  whether 
we  shall  enter  upon  such  a  career  is  a  question 
which  the  people  have  a  right  to  decide  for  them 
selves.  Unexpected  events  may  retard  or  advance 
the  Nation's  growth,  but  the  Nation's  purpose  de 
termines  its  destiny. 

What  is  the  Nation's  purpose? 

The  main  purpose  of  the  founders  of  our  Gov 
ernment  was  to  secure  for  themselves  and  for  pos 
terity  the  blessings  of  liberty,  and  that  purpose 
has  been  faithfully  followed  up  to  this  time.  Our 
statesmen  have  opposed  each  other  upon  economic 
questions,  but  they  have  agreed  in  defending  self- 
government  as  the  controlling  national  idea.  They 
have  quarreled  among  themselves  over  tariff  and 
finance,  but  they  have  been  united  in  their  oppo 
sition  to  an  entangling  alliance  with  any  European 
power. 

Under  this  policy  our  nation  has  grown  in  num 
bers  and  in  strength.  Under  this  policy  its  benefi 
cent  influence  has  encircled  the  globe.  Under  this 
policy  the  taxpayers  have  been  spared  the  burden 
j/lmd  the  menace  of  a  large  military  establishment 
j(and  the  young  men  have  been  taught  the  arts  of 
peace  rather  than  the  science  of  war.  On  each 
returning  Fourth  of  July  our  people  have  met  to 
celebrate  the  signing  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence;  their  hearts  have  renewed  their  vows  to 


AMERICA'S  MISSION  13 

free  institutions  and  their  voices  have  praised  the 
forefathers  whose  wisdom  and  courage  and  patriot 
ism  made  it  possible  for  each  succeeding  generation 
to  repeat  the  words : 

My  country,   'tis  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  liberty, 
Of  thee  I  sing. 

This    sentiment    was    well-nigh   universal   until 
a  year  ago.    It  was  to  this  sentiment  that  the  Cuban 
insurgents  appealed ;  it  was  this  sentiment  that  im 
pelled    our    people    to    enter    into    the  war  with 
Spain.     Have  the  people  so  changed  within  a  few"? 
short  months  that  they  are  now  willing  to  apolo-   / 
gize  for  the  War  of  the  Revolution  and  force  upon  / 
the   Filipinos   the    same    system     of    government  / 
against  which  the  colonists  protested  with  fire  and  1 
sword  ? 

The  hour  of  temptation  has  come,  but  tempta 
tions  do  not  destroy,  they  merely  test  the  strength 
of  individuals  and  nations;  they  are  stumbling 
blocks  or  stepping-stones;  they  lead  to  infamy  or 
fame,  according  to  the  use  made  of  them. 

Benedict  Arnold  and  Ethan  ^llen  served  to 
gether  in  the  Continental  army  and  both  were 
offered  British  gold.  Arnold  yielded  to  the  temp 
tation  and  made  his  name  a  synonym  for  treason; 
Allen  resisted  and  lives  in  the  affections  of  his 
countrymen.  ..^ 

Our  Nation  is  tempted  to  depart  from  its  "stand-/  ( 
ard  of  morality"  and  adopt  a  policy  of  ''criminal/ 
aggression."    But,  will  it  yield? 

If  I  mistake  not  the  sentiment  of  the  American 
people  they  will  spurn  the  bribe  of  Imperialism, 


14  BRYAN'S    SPEECHES 

and,  by  resisting  temptation,  win  such  a  victory  as 
has  not  been  won  since  the  battle  of  Yorktown. 
Let  it  be  written  of  the  United  States:  Behold  a 
republic  that  took  up  arms  to  aid  a  neighboring 
people,  struggling  to  be  free ;  a  republic  that,  in  the 
progress  of  the  war,  helped  distant  races  whose 
wrongs  were  not  in  contemplation  when  hostilities 
began ;  a  republic  that,  when  peace  was  restored, 
turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  clamorous  voice  of  greed 
and  to  those  borne  down  by  the  weight  of  a  foreign 
yoke  spoke  the  welcome  words,  Stand  up ;  be  free — • 
let  this  be  the  record  made  on  history 's  page  and  the 
silent  example  of  this  republic,  true  to  its  princi 
ples  in  the  hour  of  trial,  will  do  more  to  extend 
the  area  of  self-government  and  civilization  than 
could  be  done  by  all  the  wars  of  conquest  that  we 
could  wage  in  a  generation. 

The     forcible     annexation     of    the     Philippine 
/'Islands    is    not    necessary    to    make    the    United 
/States  a  world-power.     For^over  ten  decades  our 
I  Nation  has  been  a  world-power.     During  its  brief 
existence*^  it  has  exerted  upon  the  human  race  an 
influence  more  potent  for  good  than  all  the  other 
nations   of   the   earth   combined,    and   it   has   ex 
erted  that  influence  without  the  use  of  sword  or 
Gatling  gun.    Mexico  and  the  republics  of  Central 
and  South  America  testify  to  the  benign  influence 
of  our  institutions,  while  Europe  and  Asia  give  evi 
dence  of  the  working  of  the  leaven  of  self-govern- 
J     ment.    In  the  growth  of^dejnocracy  we  observe  the 
*  ^triumphant  march  otf~1midea^-an  idea  that  would 
weighted  down  ratlier^tiT^n  aided  by  the  armor 
and  weapons  proffered  by  imperialism. 


AMERICA'S  MISSION  15 

Much  has  been  said  of  late  about  Anglo-Saxon 
civilization.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  detract  from  the 
service  rendered  to  the  world  by  the  sturdy  race 
whose  language  we  speakT"  The  union  of  the  Angle 
and  the  Saxon  formed  a  new  and  valuable  type, 
but  the  process  of  race  evolution  was  not  com 
pleted  when  the  Angle  and  the  Saxon  met.  A 
still  later  type  has  appeared  which  is  superior  to 
any  which  has  existed  heretofore ;  and  with  this 
new  type  will  come  a  higher  civilization  than  any 
which  has  preceded  it.  Great  has  been  the  Greek, 
the  Latin,  the  Slav,  the  Celt,  the  Teuton  and  the 
Anglo-Saxon,  but  greater  than  any  of  these  is  the 
American,  in  whom  are  blended  the  virtues  of 
them  all. 

Civil  and  religious  liberty,  universal  education 
and  the  right  to  participate,  directly  or  through 
representatives  chosen  by  himself,  in  all  the  affairs 
of  government — these  give  to  the  American  citizen 
an  opportunity  and  an  inspiration  which  can  be 
found  nowhere  else. 

Standing  upon  the  vantage  ground  already 
gained  the  American  people  can  aspire  to  a  grander 
destiny  than  has  opened  before  any  other  race. 

Anglo-Saxon- civilization  has  taught  the  individ 
ual  to  protect  his  own  rights,  American  civiliza 
tion  will  teach  him  to  respect  the  rights  of  others. 

Anglo-Saxon  civilization  has  taught  the  indi 
vidual  to  take  care  of  himself,  American  civiliza 
tion,  proclaiming  the  equality  of  all  before  the  law, 
will  teach  him  that  his  own  highest  good  requires 
the  observance  of  the  commandment:  "Thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself." 


16  BRYAN'S    SPEECHES 

Anglo-Saxon  civilization  has,  by  force  of  arms, 
applied  the  art  of  government  to  other  races  for 
the  benefit  of  Anglo-Saxons;  American  civilization 
will,  by  the  influence  of  example,  excite  in  other 
races  a  desire  for  self-government  and  a  determina 
tion  to  secure  it. 

Anglo-Saxon  civilization  has  carried  its  flag  to 
every  clime  and  defended  it  with  forts  and  garri 
sons.  American  civilization  will  imprint  its  flag 
upon  the  hearts  of  all  who  long  for  freedom. 

"To  American  civilization,  all  hail ! 

"Time's  noblest  offspring  is  the  last!" 


IV 
IMPERIALISM 

Delivered  in  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  on  Aug.  8.  1000,  in  ac 
cepting  the  Democratic  nomination  for  the  Presidency. 

MR.  CHAIRMAN  and  Members  of  the  Noti 
fication  Committee:     I  shall,  at  an  early 
day,  and  in  a  more  formal  manner,  accept 
the  nomination  which  you  tender,  and  shall  at  that 
time  discuss  the  various  questions  covered  by  the 
Democratic  platform.     It  may  not  be  out  of  place, 
however,  to  submit  a  few  observations  at  this  time 
upon  the  general  character  of  the  contest  before  us 
and  upon  the  question  which  is  declared  to  be  of 
paramount  importance  in  this  campaign. 

When  I  say  that  the  contest  of  1900  is  a  contest 
between  Democracy  on  the  one  hand  and  ^lutoc- 
racy  on  the  other  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  alTouif 
opponents  have  deliberately  chosen  to  give  to  or 
ganized  wealth  a  predominating  influence  in  the 
affairs  of  the  Government,  but  I  do  assert  that  on 
the  important  issues  of  the  day  the  Republican 
party  is  dominated  by  those  influences  which  con 
stantly  tend  to  substitute  the  worship  of  mammon 
for 


In  1859  Lincoln  said  that  the  Republican  party 
believed  in  the  man  and  the  dollar,  but  that  in 
case  of  conflict  it..  believed  in  the  man  before  the 
xdollar,  ?EIs"ls  the  proper  relation  which  should 

(17) 


18  BRYAN'S    SPEECHES 

exist  between  the  two.     Man,  the  handiwork  of 
God,  comes  first;  money,  the  handiwork  of  man, 
is   of   inferior   importance.     Man    is   the   master, 
money  the  servant,  but  upon  all  important  ques 
tions  to-day  Republican  legislation  tends  to  make 
money  the  master  and  man  the  servant. 
;      The  maxim  of  Jefferson,  '  *  Equal  rights  to  all  and 
|  special  privileges  to  none,"  and  the  doctrine  of 
I  Lincoln,  that  this  should  be  a  government  "of  the 
I  people,  by  the  people  and  for  the  people,"  are 
being    disregarded    and    the    instrumentalities    of 
government  are  being  used  to  advance  the  interests 
of  those  who  are  in  a  position  to  secure  favors  from 
the  Government. 

The  Democratic  party  is  not  making  war  upon 
the  honest  acquisition  of  wealth;  it  has  no  desire 
to  discourage  industry,  economy  and  thrift.  On 
the  contrary,  it  gives  to  every  citizen  the  greatest 
possible  stimulus  to  honest  toil  when  it  promises 
him  protection  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  proceeds 
of  his  labor.  Property  rights  are  most  secure  when 
Tmrnft-n  rights  are  most  respected.  Democracy 
strives  for  a  civilization  in  which  every  member  of 
society  will  share  according  to  his  merits. 

No  one  has  a  right  to  expect  from  society  more 
than  a  fair  compensation  for  the  services  which  he 
renders  to  society,  if  he  secures  more  it  is  at  the 
expense  of  some  one  else.  It  is  no  injustice  to 
him  to  prevent  his  doing  injustice  to  another.  To 
him  who  would,  either  through  class  legislation 
or  in  the  absence  of  necessary  legislation,  trespass 
upon  the  rights  of  another  the  Democratic  party 
says,  "Thou  shalt  not." 


IMPERIALISM  19 

Against  us  are  arrayed  a  comparatively  small 
but  pnlij-ip.q]_]^jan^  finqft*4^}y---pm^rFnt  number 
who  really  profit  by  Republican  policies;  but  with 
them  are  associated  a  large  number  who,  because 
of  their  attachment  to  their  party  name,  are  giving 
their  support  to  doctrines  antagonistic  to  the  for 
mer  teachings  of  their  own  party. 

Republicans  who  used  to  advocate  bimetalism 
now  try  to  convince  themselves  that  the  |[old  stand 
ard  is  good;  Republicans  who  were  formerly  at- 
tacTiecTTo  the  greenback  are  now  seeking  an  excuse 
for  giving  national  banks  control  of  the  Nation's 
paper  money;  Republicans  who  used  to  boast  that 
the  Republican  party  was  paying  off  the  national 
debt  are  now  looking  for  reasons  to  support  a 
perpetual  and  increasing  debt;  Republicans  who 
formerly  abhorred  a  trust  now  beguile  themselves 
with  the  delusion  that  there  are  good  trusts  and 
bad  trusts,  while,  in  their  minds,  the  line  between 
the  two  is  becoming  more  and  more  obscure ;  Re 
publicans  who,  in  times  past,  congratulated  the 
country  upon  the  small  expense  of  our  standing 
army,  are  now  making  light  of  the  objections  which 
are  urged  against  a  large  increase  in  the  perma 
nent  military  establishment  •  Republicans  who 
gloried  in  our  independence  when  the  Nation  was 
less  powerful  now  look  with  favor  upon  a  foreign 
alliance ;  Republicans  who  three_._y^a£S^ago_,^Q ^1 
jemned  "forcible  annexation "  as  immoral  and,' 
even  criminal  are  now  sure  that  it  is  both  im-.. 
moral  and  criminal  to  oppose  forcible  annexation. 
That  partizanship  has  already  blinded  many  to 
present  dangers  is  certain ;  how  large  a  portion  of 


20  BRYAN'S    SPEECHES 

the  Republican  party  can  be  drawn  over  to  the 
new  policies  remains  to  be  seen. 

For  a  time  Republican  leaders  were  inclined  to 
deny  to  opponents  the  righj^  t.njnjt.jcizft  Ih 


the  administration,  but  upon  investi 
gation  they  found  that  both  Lincoln  and  Clay 
asserted  and  exercised  the  right  to  criticize  a  Presi 
dent  during  the  progress  of  the  Mexican  war. 

Instead  of  meeting  the  issue  boldly  and  submit 
ting  a  clear  and  positive  plan  for  dealing  with  the 
Philippine  question,  the  Republican  convention 
adopted  a  platform  the  larger  part  of  which  was 
devoted  to  boasting  and  se]£congratulation. 

In  attempting  to  press  economic  quesTTohs  upon 
the  country  to  the  exclusion  of  those  which  involve 
the  very  structure  of  our  government,  the  Repub 
lican  leaders  give  new  evidence  of  their  abandon 
ment  of  the  earlier  ideals  of  the  party  and  of  their 
complete  subserviency  to  pecuniary  considera 
tions.  —  , 

But  they  shall  not  be  permitted  to  evade  the 
stupendous  and  far-reaching  issue  which  they  have 
deliberately  brought  into  the  arena  of  politics. 
When  the  President,  supported  by  a  practically 
unanimous  vote  of  the  House  and  Senate,  entered 
upon  a  war  with  Spain  for  the  purpose  of  aiding 
the  struggling  patriots  of  Cuba,  the  country,  with 
out  regard  to  party,  applauded. 

Altho  the  Democrats  realized  that  the  adminis 
tration  would  necessarily  gain  a  political  advantage 
from  the  conduct  of  a  war  which  in  the  very  na 
ture  of  the  case  must  soon  end  in  a  complete^vie- 
tory,  they  vied  with  the  Republicans  in  the  sup- 


IMPERIALISM  21 

port  which  they  gave  to  the  President.    When  _theN 
war  was  over  and  the  Republican  leaders  began 
to  suggest  the  propriety  oFa  colonial  policy  oppo-_ 
sition  at  once  manifesfecTTtsclL" 

When  the  President  finally  laid  before  the  Sen 
ate  a_tr_e.aj^  which  recognized  thejndfipeiidfince  o£-- 
Cuba,  but  provid^d_for_the_cesjion  of  the  Philip- 
pine  Islands  fo~the  United  States,  _the  menace  of 
imperialism  became  so  apparent  that  many  pre- 
l'erre(Tl:o~reJect  the  treaty  and  risk  the  ills  that 
might  follow  rather  than  take  the  chance  of  cor 
recting  the  errors  of  the  treaty  by  the  independent 
action  of  this  country. 

I  was  among  the  number  of  those  who  believed  \ 
it  jjetter  to  ratify  the  treaty_and  end  the  war>  r 
lease  the  volunteers,   remove  the  excuse  for  war  i 


expenditures  andjthen  give  the  Filipinos  the  inde^j 
pendence  which  might  be  forced  from  Spain  by  a  i 


In  view  of  the  criticism  which  my  action  aroused 
in  some  quarters,   I  take  this  occasion  to  restate 
the  reasons  given  at  that  time.    I_thought  i  t  safer, 
to  trust,  the  American  people  to  give  independence^ 
JioJ&eJFiJj^nn^^  accpmpl  ishmeaL 

of  that  purpose  to  diplomacy  with  an  unfriendly^ 


Lincoln  embodied  an  argument  in  the  question 
when  he  asked,  "Can  aliens  make  treaties  easier  . 
than  friends  can  make  laws?"7  I  believe  that  we 
are  now  in  a  better  position  to  wage  a  successful 


.contest  against_imperialisTn   than  we 
been    had    the    treaty  been__  rejected.      With    the    i 
Treaty  ratified  a__clean-cut  issue  is  presented  be-  |  U 


22  BRYAN'S    SPEECHES 

tween  a  government  by  consenit  and  a  government 
by  force,  and  imperialists  must  bear  the  responsi- 
bility  for  all  that  happens  until  the  question  is  set 
tled. 

If  the  treaty  had  been  rejected  the  opponents 

0>f^  impenalism_WQuM  h^ayp  been  held  i-e&panaihlft 
for  any  international  complice tin^s  xvhiph  might. 
jiave  arisen  before  the  ratification  of  anothenireaty. 
But  whatever  difference  of  opinion  may  have  ex 
isted  as  to  the  best  method  of  opposing  a  colonial 
policy,  there  never  was  any  difference  as  to  the 
great  importance  of  the  question  and  there  is  no 
difference  now  as  to  the  course  to  be  pursued. 

jThe  title  of  Spain  being  extinguished  we  weje  at 
liberty  to  deal  with  the  Filipinos  according  to 
American  principles.  The  Bacon  rps^1 11  tinTv,  -intro 
duced  a  month  before  hostilities  broke  out  at 
Manila,  promised  independence  to_.th£L-JPi]ipinos 
on  the  same  terms  that_it_jvag_promised  to  the  Cu 
bans^ Fsupported  this  resolution  and  believe  that 
its  adoption  "prior  to  the  breaking  out  of  hostili 
ties  would  have  ^rjvent^j_^jodsh£d,  and  that  its 
adoption  at  any  subsequent  time  wrould  have  ended 
hostilities. 

If  the  treaty  had  been  rejected  considerable  time 
would  have  necessarily  elapsed  before  a  new  treaty 
could  have  been  agreed  upon  and  ratified,  and 
during  that  time  the  question  would  have  been 
agitating  the  public  mind.  If  the  Bacon. resolution 
had  been,  adopted  by  theJaenate  and  r,a.rrip.d  mit  by 
tha_Presiflentr  either  at  the  time  of  the  ratification 
of  the  treaty  or  at  any  tirne^  afterwards,  it  would 
h a ve  taken  the"  questr<m~oT  imperialism  out_£f . poli- 


IMPERIALISM  23 

tics,  and  left  the  Arnej;icanj)eop_le  free  to  deal  with. 
their  domestic  problems.  But  the  resolution  was 
defeated  by  the  vote  of  the  Republican  Vice-Presi-) 
dent,  and  from  that  time  to  this  a  Republican  Con 
gress  has  refused  to  take  any  action  whatever  in 
the  matter. 

When  hostilities  broke  out  at  Manila  Republi 
can  speakers  and  Republican  editors  at  once  sought 
to  lay  the  blame  upon  those  who  had  delayed  the 
ratification  of  the  treaty,  and,  during  the  progress 
of  the  war,  the  same  Republicjans  have  accused  jhe 
opponents  of  imperialism  of  giving  encouragement. 
tcTthe  Filipinos] This  is  a  cowardly  evasion  of  jre- 
sponsiDllity. 

TFlFIs  right  for  the  United  States  to  hold  the 
Philippine  Islands  permanently  and  imitate  Euro 
pean  empires  in  the  government  of  colonies,  the 
..party.,  ought  to -stale -its  -position  and 


** 
/& 
' 


defend  it,_but  Jt__mjist  expect  the  subject  races  to 
protest  against  such_a jgplicy _and  to  resist  to  the 
extenf  oi^  thejr__5,i)iJlty. 

The  Filipinos  do  not  need  any  encouragement 
from  Americans  now__liying.     Our_whole  history^ 
hajH3ej3n_jin_j^  Eilirj 

pinost_but_ta_g.ll  .who  flrp.-Amlftd  -a.-voip.ft  in  their 
own_government.    If  the  Republicans  are  prepared 
to  censure  all  who  have  used  language  calculated;^  J 
to  make  the  Filipinos  .hate  foreign  domination,  let,  \j 
them  condemn  the  speech  of  J^t£icjk_  Henry;  When 
he  uttered  that  passionate  appeal,  "Give  me  liberty 
or  give  me  death,"  he  exprest  a  sentiment  which 
still  echoes  in  the  hearts  of  men. 

Let  them  censure  Jefferson;  of  all  the  statesmen\ 


24  BRYAN'S    SPEECHES 

of  history  none  have  used  words  so  offensive  to 
those  who  would  hold  their  fellows  in  political 
bondage.  Let  them  censure  Washington,  who  de 
clared  that  the  colonists  must  choose~between  lib- 
erty  and_sjlavery-  Or,  if  the  statute  of  limitations 
has  run  against  the  sins  of  Henry  and  Jefferson 
and  Washington,  let  them  censure  .Lincoln,  whose 
^Gettysburg  speech  will  be  quolejLi"  rJpfpp«p  of 


popular   government   when   the   present 
of  force  and  conquest  are  .forgotten. 

Some  one  has  said  that  a  truth  once  spoken  can 
never  be  recalled.  It  goes  on  and  on,  and  no  one 
can  set  a  limit  to  its  ever-widening  influence.  But 
if  it  were  possible  to  obliterate  every  word  written 
or  spoken  in  defense  of  the  principles  set  forth  in 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  a  war  of  conquest 
^would  still  leave  its  legacyj)f_perpetual  hatred,  Jx»r 
1  it  jEflja-Jjjod  himself  who  placed  Jn  every  human 
heart_the_  love  of  liberty^—He^pever  made  a  race 
ofjjeople  so  low  in  the  scale  of  civilization  or  intel- 
igence^that  it  would  welcome  a  foreign  niasferT" 

Those  who  would  have  this  Nation  enter  upon  a 
career  of  empire  must  consider,  not  only  the  effect 
of  imperialism  on  the  Filipinos,  but  they  must  also 
calculate  its  effects  upon  our  own  nation.  We  can- 
_not  repudiate  the  principle  of  self-government 
m  the  JJhilippines~without  weakening  that  princi 
ple  frereT] 

"Lincoln  said  that  the  safety  of  this  Nation  was 
not  in  its  fleets,  its  armies,  or  its  forts,  but  in  the 
spirit  which  prizes  liberty  as  the  heritage  of  all 
men,  in  all  lands,  everywhere,  and  he  warned  his 
countrymen  that  they  could  not  destroy  this  spirit 


IMPERIALISM  25 

without  planting  the  seeds  of  despotism  at  their 
own  doors. 

Even  now  we  are  beginning  to  see  the  paralyzing 
influence  of  imperialism.  Heretofore  this  Nation 
has  been  prompt  to  express  its  sympathy  with  those 
who  were  fighting  for  civil  liberty.  While  our 
sphere  of  activity  has  been  limited  to  the  Western 
Hemisphere,  our  sympathies  have  not  been  bound 
ed  by  the  seas.  We_hay^felt  it  due  to  ourselves 
jmd_tp_the  world,  as  well  as  to  those  who  were 
struggling  for  the  rightjto  govern^themselves^Jo 
proclaim  the  interest  which  mir^people  have,  from 

tHe    date    of_  ^ejr__o^^_^jndepemi£rice, felt__in 

eyery_contest  between  human  rights  and  arbitrary 
power. 

Three-quarters  of  a  century  ago,  when  our  na 
tion  was  small,  the  struggles  of  Greece  aroused  our 
people,  and  Webster  and  Clay  gave  eloquent  ex 
pression  to  the  universal  desire  for  Grecian  inde 
pendence.  In  1898  all  parties  manifested  a  lively 
interest  in  the  success  of  the  jCubanSj^but  now 
when  a  war  is  in  progress  in  South  Africa,  which 
must  result  in  the  extension  of  the  monarchical 
idea,  or  in  the  triumph  of  a  republic,  the  advocates 
of  imperialism  in  this  country  dare  not  say  a  word 
in  behalf  of  the  Boers. 

Sympathy  for  the  Boers  does  not  arise  from  any 
unfriendliness  towards  England;  the  American 
people  are  not  unfriendly  toward  the  people  of  any 
nation.  This  sympathy  is  due  to  the  fact  that,  as 
stated  in  our  platform,  we  believe  in  the  principles 
.of  self-government  ancT J£jecj^_as  did~our_fore* 
fathers,  the  claims  of  monarchy.  If  this  nation  \ 

"~TT3  r^*^=^**— 


26  BRYAN'S    SPEECHES 

surrenders  its  belief  in  the  universal  application 
of  the  principles  set  forth  in  the  Declaration  of  In 
dependence,  it  will  lose  the  prestige  and  jnflueace 
which  it  has  enjoyed  among  the  Qations_as^an  expp- 


__ 

Our  opponents,  conscious  of  the  weakness  of  their 
cause,  seek  to  confusejinperialism  with  expansion, 
andhave  even  dared  _  to  '' 


jb^ii«ii_jydL_jiiSit-4*"1-^  •  Jefferson  spoke  so  freely 
and  used  language  with  such  precision  that  no  one 
can  be  ignorant  of  his  views.  On  one  occasion  he 
declared:  "If  there  be  one  principle  more  deeply 
rooted  than  any  other  in  the  mind  of  every  Ameri 
can,  it  is  that  we  should  have  nothing  to  do  with 
conquest."  And  again  he  said:  "Conquest  is_not 
jjLpur  principles:  it  is. inconsistent,  Mth  our  gov 
ernment.^. 

The  forcible  annexation  of  territory  to  be  gov 
erned  by  arbitrary  power  differs  as  much  from  the 
acquisition  of  territory  to  be  built  up  into  States 
as  a  monarchy  differs  from  a  democracy.  ^The_ 
nemocratic  paxty^does  not  oppose  expansion  wiiea 
expansion  enlarges  the  area^  of  the  Republic  and 
incorporates_land  which  can  be  settled  by  Ameri- 
can  citizens,  or  adds  toour  population  people  who 
are  willing  to  become  citizen; 

"their  duties  as  such. 


L-  The  acquisition  of  the  Louisiana  territory ,  Flori 
da,  Texas  and  other  tracts  which  have  been  secured 
from  time  to  time  enlarged  the  Republic  and  the 
Constitution  followed  the  flag  into  the  new  terri 
tory.  It  is  now  proposed  to  seize  upon  distant  ter 
ritory  already  more  densely  populated  than  our 


IMPERIALISM  27 

own  country  and  to  force  upon  the  people  a  gov- 
ernment  for  wh|ch  there  is. no. "warrant  in  our  Con 
stitution,  or  jQiir  laws. 

Even  the  argument  that  this  earth  belongs  to  ^L 
those  who  desire  to  cultivate  it  and  who  have  the 
physical  power  to  acquire,!!,  cannot  -be.  iny-oked  to  .. 
iustife-JJie  appropriation  of  the  Philippine  Islands 
by  the  JJnited  States.  If  the  islands  were  unin 
habited  American  citizens  would  not  be  willing  to 
go  there  and  till  the  soil.  The_vyhite  r^ce  will  not 
live  so_  nearjthe  equator.  Other  nations  have  Jried 
to  colonize^m  the  same  latitude.  The  Netherlands 
have~controlled  Java  for  three  hundred  years  and 
yet  today  there  are  less  than  sixty  thousand  people 
of  European  birth  scattered  among  the  twenty-five 
million  natives. 

After  a  century  and  a  half  of  English  domina- 
tion  in  India,  less  than  one-twentieth  of  one  per 
cent,  of  the  people  of  India  are  of  English  birth, 
and  it  requires  an  army  of  seventy  thousand  Brit 
ish  soldiers  to  take  care  of  the  tax  collectors.  Spain 
had  asserted  title  to  the  Philippine  Islands  for 
three  centuries  and  yet  when  our  fleet  entered 
Manila  bay  there  were  less  than  Jen_  thousand 
Spaniards  residing  in  the  Philippines. 

A  colonial  policy  means  that  we  shall  send  to  the  * 
Philippine  Islands  a  few  traders,  a  few  taskmas 
ters  jmd  a  few  office-holders,  and  an  army  large 
enough^  to  sujyport  the  authority  of  a  small  frac 
tion  of  the  people  jwhile  they  rule  the  natives. 

If  w"e  hawJTr»]Tpj-ia.1  pnlify  we  must 

ts  natural  and  necessaryj 
The   spirit   which   will    justify   the , 


^b 


28  BRYAN'S    SPEECHES 

\  forcible  annexation  of  the  Philippine  Islands  will 
justify  the  seizure  of  other  islands  and  the  domi 
nation  of  other  people,  and  with  wars  of  conquest 
we  can  expect  a  certain,  if  not  rapid,  growth  of 

r  military  establishment. 

That  a  large  permanent  increase  in  our  regular 
army  is  intended  by  Republican  leaders  is  not  a 
matter  of  conjecture,  but  a  matter  of  fact.  In  his 
message  of  December  5,  1898,  the  President  asked 
for  authority  to  increase  the  standing  army  to  400,- 
000.  In  1896  the  army  contained  about  25,000. 
Within  two  years  the  President  asked  for  four  times 
that  many,  and  a  Republican  House  of  Representa 
tives  complied  with  the  request  after  the  Spanish 
treaty  had  been  signed,  and  when  no  country  was 
at  war  with  the  United  States. 

If  such  an  army  is  demanded  when  an  imperial 
policy  is  contemplated,  but  not  openly  avowed, 
what  may  be  expected  if  the  people  encourage  the 
Republican  party  by  indorsing  its  policy  at  the 


A  large  standing  army  is  not  only  a  pecuniary 

Trardenjbojfclie  people  and,  if  accompanied  by._com- 

pulsory  service,  a  constant  source  of  irritation,  but 

1  it  7s  ever  a  menace  to  a  republican  form  of  govern- 

ment. 

The  army  is  the  personification   of_jorce_and 
militarism  w|ll_J£iejvita_b^ 

^eoDle_andTTurn  the  thoughtsof  our  young  men 
from_the  arts  of  peace  to  the  scie'nce  ot'jyyar.  ""The 
government  which  relies  for  its  defense  upon  its 
citizens  is  more  likely  to  be  just  than  one  which 
has  at  call  a  large  body  of  professional  soldiers. 


IMPERIALISM  29 

"A  small  standing  army  and  a  well-equipped  and  • 
well-disciplined  State  militia  are  sufficient  at  ordi 
nary  times,  and  in  an  emergency  the  nation  should 
in  the  future  as  in  the  past  place  its  dependence 
upon  the  volunteers  who  come  from  all  occupations 
at  their  country's  call  and  return  to  productive 
labor  when  their  services  are  no  longer  required- 
men  who  fight  when  the  country  needs  fighters  and 
work  when  the  country  needs  workers. 

The  Republican  platform  assumes  that  the  Phil 
ippine  Islands  will  be  retained  under  American 
sovereignty,  and  we  have  a  right  to  demand  of 
the  Republican  leaders  a  discussion  of  'the  future 
status  of  the  Filipino.  Is  he  to  be  a  citizen,  or  a 
s_ubject  ?  Are  we  tojbring  into  the_body__pplitic. 
eight  or  te/njnjllion  Asiatics^so  different  from  usjn 
race^and  history_that  amalgamation  is  impossible? 
Are  they  to  share  with  us  m  maT«ng~the  lawlTand 
shaping  the  destiny  of  this  nation?  No  Republican 
of  prominence  has  been  bold  enough  to  advocate 
such  a  proposition. 

The  JjcEngry  resolnt^",  arlnptpd  by  the 

ijitgl^^  the  treaty, 


expressly   negatives   this   idea.       The    Democratic     x  i 
pTaTTorm  describes  the  situation  when  it  says  that/^ 
the  Filipinos  cannot  be  citizens  withojit_endanger.- 
.il!5L£!2r  ^vjlization.     Who  will  dispute  it?     And 
what  is  the  alternative  ?   If  theJFilipino  is  notjto  be   i 
a  citizen,  shall  wre  make__him  a  subf|ect?     On  that 
question     the"  ~Ue"mocratic    platform   speaks   with 
equal  emphasis.    It  declares  that  the  Filipino  can 
not  be  a  subject  without  endangering  our  form  of 
government.    A  republic  can  have  no  subjects.    A. 


30  BRYAN'S    SPEECHES 

subject  is  possible  only  in  a  government  resting 
upon  force ;  hg  is  unknnwo-ia  a  government  deriv 
ing  its  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  gov 
erned^— 

i      The  Republican  platform  says  that  "the  largest 

I  measure  of  self-government  consistent  with  their 
welfare  and  our  duties  shall  be  secured  to  them 

\(the  Filipinos)  by  law."    This  is  a  strange  doctrine 

for  a  government  which  owes  its  very  existence  to 

the  men  who  offered  their  lives  as  a  protest  against 

government  without  consent  and  taxation  without 

..\   representation. 

In  what  respect  does  the  position  of  the  Repub 
lican  party  differ  from  the  position  taken  by  the 
English  government  in  1ZI6  ?  Did  not  the  English 
government  promise  a  good  government  to  the  colo 
nists?  What  king  ever  promised  a  bad  govern 
ment  to  his  people?  Did  not  the  English  govern- 
ment  promise"'  that  the  colonists  should^  have  the 
largest jneas_ure  of_self-government  consistent  with 
their  welfare  and  English  duties?  Did  not  the 
SpanisET government  promise  to  give  to  the  Cubans 
the  largest  measure  of  self-government  consistent 

"with  their  welf are  and  Spanish  duties  ?  The  whole 
difference  Between  a^  monarchy  and  SL  republic  may 
be  summed  up  in  one  sentence.  In  a  monarchy 
the  king  gives  to  the  people  what  he  believes  to  be 
a  good  government ;  in  a  republic  the  people  secure 
for  themselves  what  they  believe  to  be  a  good  gov- 
jgrnment. 

The  Republican  party  has  accepted  the  European 
idea  and  planted  itself  upon  the  ground  taken  by 
George  III.,  and  by  every  ruler  who  djstmsts  the 


IMPERIALISM  31 

capacity  of  the  people  for  self-government  or  de 
nies  them  a  voice  in  their  own  affaics. 

The    Republican   platform    promises   that    some 
measure  of_sel|-gQvernment  is  to  be  given  thp  T^ili- 
pinos  by  law ;  but  even  this  pledge  is  not  fulfilled. 
Nearly  sjxFeen  months  elapsed  after  the  ratification// ,j 
of  the  treaty  before  the  flfljnnrmnpnt.  nf  flnngrpss  '' 
last    June    and   yet    no   la\y__\i^^^assj^^ 

with  the  Philippine  situation.     Tiie will— el— t 

ias__beerL Jthe L  .  only ...  law  in  the   Philip^. 
T«1flnrlsijhprpvpr  the  American-  authority  ex 
tends^ 

Why  does  the  Republican  party  hesitate  to  legis 
late  upon  the  Philippine  question  ?  Because  a  law. 
would  disclose  the  radical  departure  f£om_liistflrjL. 
and  precedent  contemplated, ..by  those .  wJm.-gnntcftl 
the  RejmBlican  party.  The  storm  of  protest 
which  greeted  the  Porto  Rican  bill  was  an  indica 
tion  of  what  may  be  expected  when  the  American 
people  are  brought  face  to  face  with  legislation 
upon  this  subject. 

If  the  Porto  Ricans,  who  welcDjnfid-annexation.. 
are  to  be  denied  the  guarantees  of  our  jConstitu- 
ti on,  what  is  to  be  the  lot  of  the.  Eilipinos^-who- 
resisted  our  authority?  If  secret  influences  could 
compel  a  disregard"  of  our  plain  duty  toward 
friendly  people,  living  near  our  shores,  what  treat 
ment  will  those  ^ame~  influences  provide  for  un 
friendly  people  7.000  miles  away  ?  If,  in  this  coun 
try  where  the  people  have  a  right  to  vote,  Republi 
can  leaders  dare  not  take  the  side  of  the  people 
against  the  great  monopolies  which  have  grown 
up  within  the  last  few  years,  how  can  they  be 


32  BRYAN'S    SPEECHES 

trusted  to  protect  the  Filipinos  fromjthe  corpora 
tions  which_are  waiting  to  exploit  the  islands? 

Is  the  sunlight  of  full  citizenship  to  be  enjoyed 
by  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and  the  twilight 
of  semi-citizenship  endured  by  the  people  of  Porto 
Rico,  while  the  thick  darkness  of  perpetual  vassal 
age  covers  the  Philippines?  The  Porto  Rico  tariff 
law  asserts  the  doctrine  that  the  operation  of  the 
Constitution  is  confined  to  the  forty-five  States. 

The  Democratic  party  disputes  this  doctrine  and 
denounces  it  as  repugnant  to  both  the  letter__and 
spirit  of  our  organic  law.  There  is  no  place  in  our 
I  sj^stem  of  government  for  the  deposit  of  arbitrary 
"&nd  irresponsible  power.  That  the  leaders^  of  a 
grgaf^party  should  nlaim  fnr  anyJ^resJdent  orCon- 


1 


gress  the  right  to,  teat  millionsjof  people  as^mere 


possessions  *  *  and  deal  with  them  unrestrained  by 


the  Constitution  or  the  bill  of  rights_shojffis_how_|ar 


we  have  already  departed  from  the  ancient_land- 
inarksjmd  indicates  wEaFmay  be  esafifitedTiOhis 


nation  deliberately  enters  upon  a  career  of  empire. 


The  territorial  form  of  government  is  temporary 
and  preparatory,  andjthe  chief  security  a  citizen  of 
a  territory  has  is  found  in  the  fact  tha_tjie_jenjoys 
llie  same  const itulimial-ffiiaraTi tees  and  isjsubj ec t 
-to_jthe^.ain^^neraHaws  as  the  citizen  of  a  State. 
Take  away  this  security  ~and  his  rights  will  be  vio 
lated  and  his  interests  sacrificed  at  the  demand  of 
those  who  have  political  influence.  This  is  the  evil 
of  the  colonial  system,  no  matter  by  what  nation  it 
is  applied. 

What  is  our  title  to  the  Philippine  Islands?  Do 
we  hold  them  by  treaty  or  by  conquest  ?  Did  we 


IMPERIALISM  33/ 

or  did  we  take  them  j  Did  we  purchase 
the  people?  If  not,  how  did  we  secure  title  to 
them  ?  Were  they  thrown  in  with  the  land  ?  Will 
the  Republicans  say  that  inanimate  earth  has  value 
but  that  when  that  earth  is  molded  by  the  divine 
hand  and  stamped  with  the  likeness  of  the  Creator 
it  becomes  a  fixture  and  passes  with  the  soil? 
governments  derive  their  just  powersAom  the  ooa- 
sent  of  the  goyerned»J.t  IsJmpossible  ta  secure-  title 
jo  peopk^eithpr  by  .force  or  by  purchase.  .  _ 

We  could  extinguish  Spain's  title  by  treaty,  bu 
if  we  hold  title  we  must  hold  it  b 


consistent  with  our  ideas  of  government.  When  jye 
madeallies  of  the  Filipinos  and  armed  them  to 
fightjj^n^^  titled  If 

we  buy  Spain's  jitle  we_are  nof~Fnnocent  pur- 
chasers. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  we  accepted  and 
utilized  the  services  of  the  Filipinos,  and  that  when 
we  did  so  we  had  full  knowledge  that  they  were 
fighting  for  their  own  independence,  and  I  submit 
that  history  furnishes  no  example  of  turpitude 
baser  than  ours  if  we  now  substitute  our  yoke  for 
the  Spanish  yoke. 

Let  us  consider  briefl     the  reasons  which 


been  given  in  support  of  an  imperialistic  policy.^ 
Some  say  that  it  is  our  duty  Jo  hold  the  Philippme/r^ 
Islands.     But  duty  is  not  an  argument  ;  it  is  a^conjj 
elusion.       To  ascertain  what  our  duty  is,  in  any 
emergency,  we  must  apply  well-settled  and  gener 
ally  accepted  principles.    It  is  our  duty  to  avoid 
stealing,  no  matter  whether  the  thing  to  be  stolen  j 
is  of  great  or  little  value.  _  It  is  our  duty  to  avoidj 


34  BRYAN'S    SPEECHES 

killing  a  human  being,  no  matter  where  the  human 
being  lives  or  to  what  race  or  class  he  belongs. 

Every  one  recognizes  the  obligation  imposedjipon 
individuals  to  observe  both  the  human  and  the 
moral  law,  but  as  some  deny  the  application  of 
those  laws  to  nations,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to 
quote  the  opinions  of  others.  Jefferson,  than  whom 
there  is  no  higher  political  authority,  said: 

i"I  know  of  but  one  code  o£  morality  for  men,  whether 
acting  singly  or  collectively." 

Franklin,  whose  learning,  wisdom  and  virtue  are 
a  part  of  the  priceless  legacy  bequeathed  to  us  from 
the  revolutionary  days,  exprest  the  same  idea  in 
even  stronger  language  when  he  said: 

"Justice  is  strictly  due  between  neighbor  nations  as  be 
tween  neighbor  citizens.  A  highwayman  is  as  much  a  rob 
ber  when  he  plunders  in  a  gang  as  when  single ;  and  the 
cation  that  makes  an  unjust  war  is  only  a  great  gang." 

Many  may  dare  to  do  in  crowds  what  they  would 
not  dare  to  do  as  individuals,  but  the  nioral  char- 
acter  of  an  act  is  not  determined 
\    otjEoSe  who^jtrririt;    For^e'can^defend  a  right,  but 
— y  forclTEraS  never^yet  created  a  right.    If  it  was  true, 
'    as  declared  in  the  resolutions  of  intervention,  that 
the  Cubans  ''are  and  of  right  ought  to  be  free  and 
independent"   (language  taken  from  the  Declara 
tion  of  Independence),  it  is  equally  true  that  the 
Filipinos  "are  and  of  right  ought  to  be  free  and 
independent." 

The  right  of  the  Cubans  to  freedom  was  not 
based  upon  their  proximity  to  the  United  States, 
nor  upon  the  language  which  they  spoke,  nor  yet 
upon  the  race  or  races  to  which  they  belonged. 


IMPERIALISM  35 

Congress  by  a  practically  unanimous  vote  declared 
that  the  principles  enunciated  at  Philadelphia  iii 
1776  were  still  alive  and  applicable  to  the  Cubans. 
Who  will  draw  a  line  between  the  natural  rights. 
of  the  Cubans  and  the  Filipinos?  Who  will  say 
that  the  former  has  a  right  to  liberty  and  that  the 
latter  has  no  rights  which  we  are  bound  to  respect  ? 
And,  if  the  Filipinos  "'are  and  of  right  ought  to  be 
free  and  independent,"  ^vhat  right  jiaye  we  to~ 

t.  npnn  tliejn_WJthput  their  COll-) 


sent?     Before  our  dutv  can  be  ascertained  the-ir 


rights  must  be  determined,  and  when  their  rights^ 
are  once  determmed__it_is_as  much  our  duty  Jt o 
respect  those  rights  as  it  was  the  duty  of  Spain 

3o  respect  the"~rights.-nf  t.hp  ppnpTe  of  Cuba  .or.  ill? 
duty  of  England  to  rggnecMhe  rights  of  the  Ameri 
can  colonists^  Rights  never  conflict ;  duties  nevei 

_clash.  Can  it  be  our  duty  to  usurp  political  rights 
which  belong  to  others?  Can  it  be  our  duty  to  kill 
those  who.  following  the  example  of  our  forefath 
ers,  love  liberty  well  enough  to  fight  for  it  ? 

Some  poet  has  described  the  terror  which  over 
came  a  soldier  who  in  the  midst  of  the  battle  dis 
covered  that  he  had  slain  his  brother.  It  is  written 
"All  ye  are  brethren/'  Let  us  hope  for  the  com 
ing  of  the  day  when  human  life — which  when  once 
destroyed  cannot  be  restored — will  be  so  sacred  that 
it  will  never  be  taken  except  when  necessary  to  pun 
ish  a  crime  already  committed,  or  to  prevent  a 
crime  about  to  be  committed. 

It  is  said  that  we  have  assumed  before  the  world 
obligations  which  make  it  necessary  for  us  to  per 
manently  maintain  a  government  in  the  Philippine 


36  BRYAN'S    SPEECHES 

Islands.  ^  reply  first,  thatjjie  high  est  obli  gallon 
flf  this  nation  is  to  j3e_truejto~TtseIf:  _  No^obligation 
to_any  particular  nations,  or  to  all  the  nations  colm- 
bined,  can  require  the  abandonment  QJJEir  Jthgory 
of  government,  and  the  substitution  of  doctrines 
against  which  our  whole  national  life  has  been  a 
protest  And,  second,  that  our  obligation  to  the 
Filipinos,  who  inhabit  the  islands.  is_greate_r.j;han 
any  obligation  which  we  can  owe  to  foreigners  who 
iiave  a  temporary  residence  in  tne  i^hiijppjLnes  or 


It  is  argued  by  some  that  the  Filipinos  are_jn- 
capable  of  self-government  and  that,  therefore,  we 
owe  it  to  the  world  to  take  control  of  them.  Ad 
miral  Dewey.,  in  an  official  report  to  the  Navy  De- 
partmerTf."5eclared  the  Filipinos  more  capable  of 
self-government  than  the  Cubans  and  said  that  he 
based  his  opinion  upon  a  knowTpfTgp  nf  both  races. 
But  I  will  not  rest  the  case  upon  the  relativejad- 
vancement  of  the  Filipinos.  Henry  Clay:,'  In  de 
fending  the  right  of  tHe"  people  of  South  America 
to  self-government,  said: 

"It  is  the  doctrine  of  thrones  that  man  is  too  ignorant 
to  govern  himself.  Their  partizans  assert  his  incapacity  in 
reference  to  all  nations  ;  if  they  cannot  command  universal 
assent  to  the  proposition,  it  is  then  demanded  to  particular 
nations;  and  our  pride'  and  our  presumption  too  often 
make  converts  of  us.  I  contend  that  it  *s  tn  arraign  the 
(disposition  of  Providence  hini.SP1f  tn_  cnppngQ  t^at  ji°  hfl° 
[created  beings  incapable  of  governing,  themselves,  and  to. 
he  Lfamplfetf"  on  by'.  .kings.,.  SelfjgQYijrjDment  ^_the_natural 
>vernment  oi  man." 

~Clay  was  right.  There  are  decrees  ol  proficiency. 
in  the  art  of  self-government,  but  it  is  a  reflection 
upon  the  Creator  to  say  that  3je  denied  to  any  peo- 


IMPERIALISM  37 

pie  the  capacity  for  self-government.  Once  admit 
that  some_j>eop_le  are  capable  of  self-government 
and  that  others  are  not  and  that  the  capable  people 
have  a  right  to  seize  upon  and  govern  the  incapable, 
and  you  make  force — brute  force — the  only  foun 
dation  of  government  and  invite  the  reign  of  a 
despot.  I  am  not  willing  to  believe  that  an  all-wise 
and  an  all-loving  God  created  the  Filipinos  and 
then  left  them  thousands  of  years  helpless  until 
the  islands  attracted  the  attention  of  European 
nations. 

Republicans  ask,  "Shall  we  haul  down  the  flag 
that  floats  over  our  dead  in  the  Philippines?"  The 
same  question  might  have  been  asked,  when  the 
American  flag  floated  over  Chapultepec  and  waved 
over  the  dead  who  fell  there;  but  the  tourist  who 
visits  the  City  of  Mexico  finds  there  a  national 
cemetery  owned  by  the  United  States  and  cared  for 
by  an  American  citizen. 

Our  flag  still  floats  over  our  dead,  but  when  the 
treaty  with  Mexico  was  signed  American  authority 
withdrew  to  the  Rio  Grande,  and  I  venture  the 
opinion  that  during  the  last  fifty  years  the  people 
of  Mexico  have  made  more  progress  under  the 
btimulris~of  independence  and  self-government  than 
they  would  have  made  under  a  carpet-bag  govern 
ment  held  hi  place  by  bayonets.  The  United  States 
and  Mexico,  friendly  republics,  are  each  stronger 
and  happier_Jih?n  t.hpy  won  hi  have  been  h^\  the 
former  been  cursed  and  the  latter  crushed  by  an 
imperialistic  policy  ^jsgnised  as  "lffllflYft]fir>t  a.a- 
similation. 

""Can  we  not  govern  colonies  ? * ?  we  are  asked.. 


BRYAN'S    SPEECHES 

'.  The  question  is  not  what  we  can  doT  hut,  what  \VP 
_ought_to_dix—  This  nation  can  do  whatever  it  desires 
to  do,  but  it  must  accept  responsibility  for  what  it 
does.  If  the  Constitution  stands  in  the  way,  the 
people  can  amend  the  Constitution.  I  repeat,  the 
nation  can  do  whatever  it  desires  to  do,  but  it  can 
not  avoid  the  natural  and  legitimate  results  of  Its 
own  conduct. 

The  young  man  upon  reaching  his  majority  can 
do  what  he  pleases.  He  can  disregard  the  teachings 
of  his  parents ;  he  can  trample  upon  all  that  he  has 
been  taught  to  consider  sacred;  he  can  disobey  the 
laws  of  the  State,  the  laws  of  society  and  the  laws 
of  God.  He  can  stamp  failure  upon  his  life  and 
make  his  very  existence  a  curse  to  his  fellow  men, 
and  he  can  bring  his  father  and  mother  in  sorrow 
to  the  grave;  but  he  cannot  annul  the  sentence, 
< '  The  wages  of  sin  is  death. ' ' 

And  so  with  the  nation.  It  is  of  age  and  it  can 
do  what  it  pleases ;  it  can  spurn  the  traditions  of  the 
past;  it  can  repudiate  the  principles  upon  which 
the  nation  rests ;  it  can  employ  force  instead  of  rea 
son;  it  can  substitute  might  for  right;  it  can  con 
quer  weaker  people;  it  can  exploit  their  lands,  ap 
propriate  their  property  and  kill  their  people ;  but 
it  cannot  repeal  the  moral-law  or  escape  the  pun 
ishment  decreed  for  the  violation  of  human  rights. 

"Would  we  tread  in  the  paths  of  tyranny, 

Nor    reckon    the   tyrant's   cost? 
Who  taketh  another's  liberty 

His  freedom  is  also  lost. 
Would  we  win  as  the  strong  have  ever  won, 

Make  ready  to  pay  the  debt, 
For  the  God   who  reisned  over  Babylon 

Is  the  God  who  is  i-figning  yet." 


IMPERIALISM  39C/<A 

Some  argue  that  American  rule  in  the  Philippine  __ 
Islands  will  result  in  the  better  educati_Qa_Q^.tVift- 
^Fili£mosT  Be  not  deceived.  If  we  expect  to  main 
tain  a  colonial  policy,  we  shall  not  find  it  to-  our 
advantage  to  educate  the  people.  The  educated 
Filipinps  are  now  in  revolt  against  us,  and  the 
most  ignorant  ones  have  made  the  least  resistance 
to  our  domination.  If  we  are  to  govern  them  with 
out  their  consent  and  give  them  no  voice  in  deter 
mining  the  taxes  which  they  must  pay,  we  dare 
not  educate  them,  lest  they  learn  to  read  the  Dec 
laration  of  Independence  and  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  and  mock  us  for  our  inconsistency.  — rr^ 

The  principal  arguments,  however,  advanced  by 
those  who  enter  upon  a  defense  of  imperialism 
are :  -x 

First — That  we  must  improve  the  present  oppor 
tunity  to  become  a  world  power  and  enter  into  in 
ternational  politics. 

Second — That  our  commercial  Jjnt.firggtg  in  the 
Philippine  Islands  and  in  the  Orient  make  it  nec 
essary  for  us  to  hold  the  islands  permanently. 

Third Thgt   HIA  gproirl   nf  tVm  rhrifiti-irua^ligi^n 

wjll  be  facilitated _bv  a  colonial  policy. 

Fourth — That  there  is  no  honorable  retreat  from 
the  positLpji_which__the  nation  has  taken. 

The  first  argument  is  addrest  to  the  nation's 
pride  and  the  second  to  the  nation's  pocket-book. 
The  third  is  intended  for  the  church  member  and 
the  fourth  for  the  partizan. 

It  is  sufficient  answer  to  the  first  argument  to 
say  that  f or  niore  than  a  century  this  nation  has 
been  a  woricTpower.  For  ten  decades  it  has  been 


40  BRYAN'S    SPEECHES 

the  most  potent  influence  in  the  world.  Not  only 
has  it  been  a  world  power,  but  it  has  done  more 
to  shape  the  politics  of  the  human  race  than  all  the 
other  nations  of  the  world  combined.  Because  our 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  promulgated 
others  have  been  promulgated.  Because  the  patriots 
of  1776  fought  for  liberty  others  have  fought  for  it. 
Because  our  Constitution  was  adopted  other  consti 
tutions  have  been  adopted. 

The  growth  of  the  principle  of  self-government, 
planted  on  American  soil,  has  _beeji_lhajQver  shadow 
ing  political  f  act  oJM^JlinjetejBnth  century.  It  has 
made  this  nation  fionsjricuous.  among  the  nations 
and  given  it  a  place  in  history  such  as  no  other  na 
tion  has  ever  enjoyed.  Nothing  has  been  able  to 
check  the  onward  march  of  this  idea.  I  am  not 
willing  that  this  nation  shall  cast  aside  the  omnipo 
tent  weapon  of  truth  to  seize  again  the  weapons  of 
physical  warfare.  I  would  not  exchange  the  glory 
of  this  Republic  for  the  glory  of  all  the  empires 
that  have  risen  and  fallen  since  time  began. 
***  The  permanent  chairman  of  the  last  Republican 
National  Convention  presented  the  pecuniary  argu 
ment  in  all  its  baldness  when  he  said  : 

"We    make  no   hypocritical   pretense   of   being    interested 

floBraeL'  oun  t  of  -pflrers:—  While  we 


_ 

regard  the  welfare  of  those  people  as  a  snared  trust,  we 
regard  the  welfare  of  the_American  people  first.  We  see 
our  duty  to  ourselves  as  "welt  ""as  to  others]  We  believe  in 
trade  expansion.  By  every  legitimate  means  within  the 
province  of  government  and  constitution  we  mean  to  stimu 
late  the  expansion  of  our  trade  and  open  new  markets." 

*This  is  the  commercial  argument.  It  is  based 
upon  the  theory  that  war  caiQjLrightly  waged  for 


IMPERIALISM  41 

pecu  n  i  a  r  v  ad  van  t  a  ff  e^an  d  tha.t_Jt__is_  profitable  to 
purchase  trade  by  force  and  violence^  Franklin 
denied  both  of  these  propositions.  When  Lord 
Howe  asserted  that  the  acts  of  Parliament  which 
brought  on  the  revolution  were  necessary  to  pre 
vent  American  trade  from  passing  into  foreign 
channels,  Franklin  replied  : 

"To  me,  it  seems  that  neither  the  obtaining  nor  retain 
ing  of  any  trade,  howsoever  valuable,  is  an  object  for 
which  men  may  justly  spill  each  other's  blood;  that  the 
true  and  sure  means  of  extending  and  securing  commerce 
are  the  goodness  and  cheapness  of  commodities,  and  that 
the  profits  of  no  trade  can  ever  be  equal  to  the  expense 
of  compelling  it  and  holding  it  by  fleets  and  armies.  I 
consider  this  war  against  us,  therefore,  as  both  unjust  and 
unwise." 

I  place  the  philosophy  of  Franklin  against  _±hfi 
o£  thos&  -who  would  put  ~a  price 


upon  the  Jiead  of  an.  .American  ^oldier  and  justify 
a  war  of  conquest  upon  the  ground  that  it  will  pay. 
The  Democratic  party  is_in  favor  of  the  expansion 
of  trade.  It  would  extend  our  trade  by  every  le£it- 
miate  and  peaceful  means;  but  it  is  not  willing  to 
ftP  of  hum  a" 


But  a  war  of  conquest  is  as  unwise  asjJLJs  ui> 
A  harbor   and   coaling   station   in   the 


Philippines  would  answer  every  trade  and  military 
necessity  and  such  a  concession  could  have  been. 
secured  at  any  time  without  difficulty. 

It   is  not  necessary  to  own   people  in   order  .in  t 
trade  \vith  them.     We  carry  on  trade  today  with  ' 
every  part  of  the  world,  and  our  commerce  has  ex 
panded  more  rapidly  than  the  commerce  of  any 
European  empire.    WTe  do  not  own  Japan  or  China, 

II  4 


42  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

but  we  trade  with  their  people.  We  have  not  ab 
sorbed  the  republics  of  Central  and  South  America, 
but  we  trade  with  them.  It  has  not  been  necessary 
to  have  any  political  connection  with  Canada  or  the 
nations  of  Europe  in  order  to  trade  with  them. 
Trade  cannot  be  permanently  profitable  unless  it  is 
voluntary. 

T*      When  trade  is  secured  by  force,  the  cost  of  se 

curing  it  and  retaining  it  must  be  taken  out  of  the 

profits,  and  the  profits  are  never  large  enough  to 

1   cover  the  expense.    Such  a  system  would  never  be 

j  defended  but  for  the  fact  that  the  expense  is  borne 

(  by  all  the  people,  while  the  profits  are  enjoyed  by  a 


l^tl 
^ 


Imperialism  would  be  profitable  to  the  army  con 
tractors  ;  it  would  be  profitable  to  the  ship  owners, 
who  would  carry  live  soldiers  to  the  Philippines 
and  bring  dead  soldiers  back  ;  it  would  be  profitable 
to  those  who  would  seize  upon  the  franchises,  and  it 
would  be  profitable  to  the  officials  whose  salaries 
would  be  fixt  here  and  paid  over  there  ;  but  to  the 
farmer,  to  the  laboring  man  and  to  the  vast  major 
ity  of  those  engaged  in  other  occupations  it  would 
bring  expenditure  without  return  and  risk  without 
reward. 

Farmers  and  laboring  men  have,  as  a  rule,  small 
incomes  "and  under^systems"  which  place  the  tax 
pon  consumption  pay  much  more  than  their  fair 
share  of  the  expenses  of  government.  Thus  the 
very  people  who  receive  least  benefit,  from  impprial. 
ism  will  be  inured  most  by  thp.  military  burdens 
which  accompanyit. 
~Tn  "aH3iHon  the  ""evils  which  he  and  the  farmer 


IMPERIALISM 

share  in  common,  the  laboring  man  will  be  the  first] 
to  suffer  if  oriental  subjeclsj^k  ^orkinlEe  United/ 
States  ;  the  first  to  suffer  if  American  capital  lea"' 
our  shores  to  employ  oriental  laborjn  the  Philip 
pines  to  supply  the  trade  of  China  and  Japan  ;  the 
first  to  suffer  from  the  violence  which  the  military 
spirit  arouses  and  the  first  to  suffer  when  the  meth 
ods  of  imperialism  are  applied  to  our  own  Govern 
ment. 

It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  that  the  labor-organ* 
izations  have  been  quick  to  note  the  approach  of 
these  dangers  and  prppipt  t^  protest  against 
i  sm  . 


The  pecuniary  argument,  tho  more  effective  with 
certain  classes,  is  not  likely  to  be  used  so  often  or 
presented  with  so  much  enthusiasm  as  the  religious 
argmnenjL_  If  what  has  been  termed  the  "gun 
powder  gospel"  were  urged  against  the  Filipinos 
only  it  would  be  a  sufficient  answer  to  say  that  a 
majority_of  the  Filipinos  are  7inw  m^mbprs  of  one 
branch  of  the  Christian  church:  but  the  principle 

_  ^  ,    ,  ,     .,.        -----------------------  —  —  —  —  —   •  f"  •  -—  .  ..—  .      .  •  A  ---  —A  -  _ 

involved  is  _one_pf  much  wider  application  and  chal- 
lenge^sexious  oonoiderati  on  . 

The  religious  argument  varies  in  positiveness 
from  a  passive  belief  that  Providence  delivered  the 
Filipinos  into  our  hands,  for  their  good  and  our 
glory,  to  the  exultation  of  the  minister  who  said  that 
we  ought  to  "thrash  the  natives  (Filipinos)  until 
they  understand  who  we  are,"  and  that  "every 
bullet  sent,  every  cannon  shot  and  every  flag  waved 
means,  righteousness.  '  ' 

We  cannot  approve  of  this  doctrine  in  one  place 
unless  we  are  willing  to  apply  it  everywhere.  If 


44  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

there  is  poison  in  the  blood  of  the  hand  it  will  ulti 
mately  reach  the  heart.  It  is  equally  true  that 
forcible  Cfrrjsftjapifv,  if  planted  nnder  the 
flag  in  the  far-away  Orient,  will  sooner  or  later 

upon 


If  true  Christianity  consists  in  carrying  out  in 
our  daily  lives  the  teachings  of  Christ,  who  will  say 
that  we  are  commanded  to  civilize  with  dynamite 
and  proselyte  with  the  sword?  He  who  would  de 
clare  the  divine  will  must  prove  his  authority 
either  by  Holy  Writ  or  by  evidence  of  a  special  dis 
pensation. 

mperialism  finds  no  warrant  inJhe_.Bible.  The 
command,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  worldand  preach  the 
gospel  to  every  creature,'7  has  no  Gatling  gun  at 
tachment.  When  Jesus  visited  a  village  of  Samaria 
and  the  people  refused  to  receive  him,  some  of  the 
disciples  suggested  that  fire  should  be  called  down 
from  Heaven  to  avenge  the  insult;  but  the  Master 
rebuked  them  and  said  :  '  *  Ye  know  not  what  man 
ner  of  spirit  ye  are  of;  for  the  Son  of  Man  is  not 
come  to  destroy  men's  lives,  but  to  save  them." 
Suppose  he  had  said  :  '  '  We  will  thrash  them  until 
they  understand  who  we  are,  '  '  how  different  would 
have  been  the  history  of  Christianity!  Compare, 
if  you  will,  the  swaggering,  bullying,  brutal  doc 
trine  of  imperialism  with  the  golden  rule  and  the 
commandment,  "Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as 


Love.  not  force,  was  thp  weapon--  nf  th 
sacrifice  for  others,  not  the  exploitation,  of  them, 
was  His  metnod  of  reaching  the  human  heart.  A 
missionary  recently  told  me  that  the  Stars  and 


IMPERIALISM  45 

Stripes  once  saved  his  life  because  his  assailant  rec 
ognized  our  flag  as  a  flag  that  had  no  blood  upon  it. 
Let  it  be  known  that  our  missionaries  are  seekin 


ng* 
that 


letit  ;  bTknown  that 

Tnsteacl  of  being  the  advance"  guard  of  conquering 
armies,  they  are  going  forth  to  help  and  uplift,  hav 
ing  their  loins  girt  about  with  truth  and  their  feet 
shpci  with  the  jpreparation,  of  .the^gospel  of  peace, 
wearing  the  breastplate  of  righteousness  and  carry 
ing  the  sword  of  the  spirit  ;  let  it  be  known  that  they 
are  citizens  of  a  nation  which  respects  the  rights  of 
the  citizens  of  other  nations  as  carefully  as  it  pro 
tects  the  rights  of  its  own  citizens,  and  the  welcome 
given  to  our  missionaries  will  be  more  cordial  than 
the  welcome  extended  to  the  missionaries  of  any 
nation. 

The  argument  made  by  some  that  it  was  unfor 
tunate  for  the  nation  that  it  had  anything  to  do 
with  the  Philippine  Islands,  but  that  the  naval  vic 
tory  at  Manila  made  the  permanent  acquisition  of 
those  islands  necessary,  is  also  unsound.  "We  won 
a  naval  victory  at  Santiago,  but  that  did  not  compel 
us  to  hold  Cuba. 

The  shedding  of  American  blood  in  theJPMippine 
Islands  does  not  make  it  imperative  that_we  _shoul  d 
retain  possession  forever  ;  American  blood  was  shed 

Caney,  and  yet  the  Presi 


dent  has  promised  the  Cubans  independence.  The 
fact  that  the  American  flag  floats  over  Manila  does 
not  compel  us  to  exercise  perpetual  sovereignty  over 
the  islands;  the  American  flag  waves  over  Havana 
to-day,  but  the  President  has  promised  to  haul  it 
down  when  the  flag  of  the  Cuban  Republic  is  ready 


; 


46  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

to  rise  in  its  place.  Better  a  thousand  times  that 
our  flag  in  the  Orient  give  way  to  a  flag  represent 
ing  the  idea  of  self-government  than  that  the  flag 
of  this  Republic  should  become  the  flag  of  an  em 
pire. 

There  is  an  easy,  honest,  honorable  solution  of  the 
Philippine  question.  It  is  set  forth  in  the  Demo 
cratic  platform  and  it  is  submitted  with  confidence 
to  the  American  people.  This  plan  I  unreservedly 
indorse.  If  elected,  I  will  convene  Congress  in  ex 
traordinary  session  as  soon  as  inaugurated  and  rec 
ommend  an  immediate  declaration  of  the  nation's 
purpose,  first,  to  establish  a  stable  form  of  govern 
ment  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  just  as  we  are  now 
establishing  a  stable  form  of  government  in  Cuba; 
second,  to  give  independence  to  the  Filipinos  as  we 
have  promised_to-givp  inrlpppnrlpr^e  t"  fo 


third,  to  prote^J:^3^jj3Jj^^  inter- 

•ference_whjle_they  work  out  jtheir  destiny,  just  as 
we  have  protected  the  republics  of  Central  and 

!  South  America,  and  are,  by  the  Monroe  doctrine, 

!  pledged  to  protect  Cuba. 

JL  A  European  protectorate  often  results  in  the 
plundering  of  the  ward  by  the  guardian.  An  Amer 
ican  protectorate  gives  to  the  nation  protected  the 
advantage  of  our  strength,  without  making  it  the 
victim  of  our  greed.  For  three-quarters  of  a  cen 
tury  the  Monroe  doctrine  has  been  a  shield  to  neigh 
boring  republics  and  yet  it  has  imposed  no  pecuni 
ary  burden  upon  us.  After  the  Filipinos  had  aided 
us  in  the  war  against  Spain,  we  could  not  honorably 
turn  them  over  to  their  former  masters;  we  could 
not  leave  them  to  be  the  victims  of  the  ambitious 


IMPERIALISM  47 

designs  of  European  nations,  and  since  we  do  not 
desire  to  make  them  a  part  of  us  or  to  hold  them 
fcs  subjects,  we  propose  the  on]v_p.lternative,  namely, 
\o  give  them  independence  and  guard  them  against 
molestation  from  without. 

When  our  opponents  are  unable  to  defend  their 
position  by  .argument  they  fall  back  upon  the  asser? 
lion  that  it  is  destiny^  and  insist  that  we  must  sub 
mit  to  it,  no  matter  how  much  it  violates  our  moral 
precepts  and  our  principles  of  government.  This  is 
a  complacent  philosophy.  j1 


tjpn  between_£Jght  and  wrong  and  makes  individ- 

lials    aild_HatiOJlg    t.hp    hplplp^    viftimq    nf 


Destiny  is  the  subterfuge  of  the  invertebrate, 
who,  lacking  the  courage  to  oppose  error,  seeks  some 
plausible  excuse  for  supporting  it.  Washington  said 
that  the  destiny  of  the  republican  form  of  govern 
ment  was  deeply,  if  not  finally,  staked  on  the  experi 
ment  entrusted  to  the  American  people.  HQW  dif- 
ferent  "Washington's  definition  of  destiny  from  the 


The  Republicans  say  that  this  nation  is  in  the 
hands  of  destiny  :  Washington  believed  that  not 
only  the  destiny  of  our  own  nation  but  the  destiny 
of  the  republican  form  of  government  throughout 
the  world  was  entrusted  to  American  hands.  Im 
measurable  responsibility!  The  destiny  of  this 
republic  is  in  the  hands  of  its  own  people,  and 
upon  the  success  of  the  experiment  here  rests  the 
hope  of  humanity.  No  exterior  force  can  disturb 
this  republic,  and  no  foreign  influence  should  be 
permitted  to  change  its  course.  What  the  future 


48  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

has  in  store  for  this  nation  no  one  has  authority  to 
declare,  but  each  individual  has  his  own  idea  of  the 
nation's  mission,  and  he  owes  it  to  his  country  as 
well  as  to  himself  to  contribute  as  best  he  may  to 
the  fulfilment  of  that  mission. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Committee : 
I  can  never  fully  discharge  the  debt  of  gratitude 
which  I  owe  to  my  countrymen  for  the  honors  which 
they  have  so  generously  bestowed  upon  me;  but, 
sirs,  whether  it  be  my  lot  to  occupy  the  high  office 
for  which  the  convention  has  named  me,  or  to  spend 
the  remainder  of  my  days  in  private  life,  it  shall 
be  my  constant  ambition  and  my  controlling  pur 
pose  to  aid  in  realizing  the  high  ideals  of  those 
whose  wisdom  and  courage  and  sacrifices  brought 
this  republic  into  existence. 

I  can  conceive  of  a  national  destiny  surpassing 
the  glories  of  the  present  and  the  past — a  destiny 
which  meets  the  responsibilities  of  to-day  and 
measures  up  to  the  possibilities  of  the  future.  Be 
hold  a  republic,  resting  securely  upon  the  founda 
tion  stones  quarried  by  revolutionary  patriots  from 
the  mountain  of  eternal  truth — a  republic  applying 
in  practise  and  proclaiming  to  the  world  the  self- 
evident  propositions  that  all  men  are  created  equal; 
that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  in 
alienable  rights;  that  governments  are  instituted 
among  men  to  secure  these  rights,  and  that  govern 
ments  derive  their  just  powers  from  the  consent 
of  the  governed.  Behold  a  republic  in  which  civil 
and  religious  liberty  stimulate  all  to  earnest  en 
deavor  and  in  which  the  law  restrains  every  hand 
uplifted  for  a  neighbor's  injury — a  republic  in 


IMPERIALISM  49 

which  every_citizen  is  a  sovereign,  but  in  which  no 
one  cares  or  dares  to  wear  a  crown.    Behold  a  re 
public  standing  erect  while  empires  all  around  are 
bowed  beneath  the  weight  of  their  own  armaments 
— a  republic  whose  flag  is  loved  while  other  flags 
are  only  feared.     Behold  a  republic  increasing  ia\ 
population,  in  wealth,  in  strength  and  in  influence,  ( 
solving  the  problems  of  civilization  and  hastening 
the  coming  of  an  universal  brotherhood — a  repub 
lic  which  shakes  thrones  and  dissolves  aristocracies 
by  its  silent  example  and  gives  light  and  inspira 
tion  to  those  who  sit  in  darkness.     Behold_a  Re 
public  gradually  but  surely  becoming  the  supreme 
m(gjyjfogto_in   the  world's  progress  and  the  AC-  _ 
cepteji_a£biter_of_the  world  *s  disputes — a  republic  . 
wTjoseJijstorvr  like,  the  path  °f  thp  jnatrJlig  as  the- 
shining  light  that  shineth  more  and,  more  unto  the . 
perfect  day." 


V 
THE  ST.   LOUIS  CONVENTION 

Delivered  in  the  Democratic  National  Convention  in  St. 
Louis  in  1904.  Commonly  called  the  "I  Have  Kept  the 
Faith"  speech.  The  occasion  was  the  seconding  of  the  nom 
ination  of  Senator  F.  M.  Cockrell  for  President. 

TWO  nights  without  sleep  and  a  cold  make  it 
difficult  for  me  to  make  myself  heard.  I 
trust  that  my  voice  will  improve  in  a  mo 
ment,  but  as  I  desire  to  speak  to  the  delegates 
rather  than  to  the  galleries,  I  hope  they  at  least 
will  be  able  to  hear. 

Eight  years  ago  a  Democratic  national  conven 
tion  placed  in  my  hand  the  standard  of  the  party 
and  commissioned  me  as  its  candidate.  Four  years 
later  that  commission  was  renewed.  I  come  to 
night  to  this  Democratic  national  convention  to  re 
turn  the  commission.  You  may  dispute  whether  I 
have  fought  a  good  fight,  you  may  dispute  whether 
I  have  finished  my  course,  but  you  cannot  deny 
that  I  have  kept  the  faith. 

As  your  candidate  I  did  all  that  I  could  to  bring 
success  to  the  party;  as  a  private  citizen  I  feel 
more  interested  in  Democratic  success  to-day  than 
I  ever  did  when  I  was  a  candidate. 

The  reasons  that  made  the  election  of  a  Demo 
crat  desirable  were  stronger  in  1900  than  in  1896, 
and  the  reasons  that  make  the  election  of  a  Demo- 

(50) 


THE  ST.  LOUIS  CONVENTION          51 

crat  desirable  are  stronger  now  than  they  were  in 
1900. 

The  gentleman  who  presented  New  York's  can 
didate  dwelt  upon  the  dangers  of  militarism,  and 
he  did  not  overstate  those  dangers.  Let  me  quote 
the  most  remarkable  passage  ever  found  in  a  speech 
nominating  a  candidate  for  the  presidency. 

Governor  Black,  of  New  York,  in  presenting  the 
name  of  Theodore  Roosevelt  to  the  Republican  con 
vention,  used  these  words: 

"The  fate  of  nations  is  still  decided  by  their  wars.  You 
may  talk  of  orderly  tribunals  and  learned  referees;  you  may 
sing  in  your  schools  the  gentle  praises  of  the  quiet  life ;  you 
may  strike  from  your  books  the  last  note  of  every  martial 
anthem,  and  yet  out  in  the  smoke  and  thunder  will  always 
be  the  tram])  of  horses  and  the  silent,  rigid,  upturned  face. 
Men  may  prophesy  and  women  pray,  but  peace  will  come 
he  iv  to  abide  forever  on  this  earth  only  when  the  dreams  of 
childhood  are  the  accepted  charts  to  guide  the  destinies  of 
men. 

"Events  are  numberless  and  mighty,  and  no  man  can  tell 
which  wire  runs  around  the  world.  The  nation  basking 
to-day  in  the  quiet  and  contentment  of  repose  may  still  be 
on  the  deadly  circuit  and  to-morrow  writhing  in  the  toils  of 
war.  This  is  the  time  when  great  figures  must  be  kept  in 
front.  If  the  pressure  is  great  the  material  to  resist  it  must 
be  granite  and  iron." 

This  is  a  eulogy  of  war.  This  is  a  declaration 
that  the  hoped  for,  prayed  for,  era  of  perpetual 
peace  will  never  come.  This  is  an  exalting  of  the 
doctrine  of  brute  force ;  it  darkens  the  hopes  of  the 
race.  ^ 

This  Republican  president,  a  candidate  for  re 
election,  is  presented  as  the  embodiment  of  the  war 
like  spirit  as  "the  granite  and  iron"  that  repre 
sent  modern  militarism. 

Do  you,  men  of  the  East,  desire  to  defeat  the 


52  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

military  idea?  Friends  of  the  South,  are  you  anx 
ious  to  defeat  the  military  idea?  Let  me  assure 
you  that  not  one  of  you,  North,  East,  or  South, 
fears  more  than  I  do  the  triumph  of  that  idea.  If 
this  is  the  doctrine  that  our  nation  is  to  stand  for, 
it  is  retrogression,  not  progress.  It  is  a  lowering  of 
the  ideals  of  the  nation.  It  is  a  turning  backward 
to  the  age  of  violence.  More  than  that,  it  is  noth 
ing  less  than  a  challenge  to  the  Christian  civiliza 
tion  of  the  world. 

Some  twenty-six  hundred  years  ago  a  prophet 
foretold  the  coming  of  One  who  was  to  be  called  the 
Prince  of  Peace.  Nearly  two  thousand  years  ago 
He  came  upon  the  earth,  and  the  song  that  was 
sung  at  His  birth  was  "  Peace  on  earth,  good  will 
toward  men."  For  almost  twenty  centuries  this 
doctrine  of  peace  has  been  growing;  it  has  been 
taking  hold  upon  the  hearts  of  men.  For  this  doc 
trine  of  peace,  millions  have  gladly  given  their 
lives;  for  this  doctrine  of  peace,  thousands  have 
crost  oceans  and  labored  in  distant  lands,  ay,  even 
among  savage  tribes.  This  doctrine  of  peace.,  the 
foundation  of  Christian  civilization,  has  been  the 
growing  hope  and  inspiration  of  the  world.  And 
now,  an  ex-governor  of  the  largest  State  in  the 
union  presents  for  the  office  of  president  of  the 
greatest  republic  of  all  history,  a  man  who  is  de 
scribed  as  " granite  and  iron,"  as  one  who  repre 
sents,  not  the  doctrine  of  peace  and  arbitration, 
but  the  doctrine  that  the  destinies  of  nations  must 
still  be  settled  by  their  wars.  Will  you  Democrats 
of  New  York  present  a  graver  indictment  against 
President  Roosevelt  than  that?  Can  you  of  the 


THE  ST.  LOUIS  CONVENTION          53 

South  present  a  more  serious  accusation?  I  do  not 
ask  concerning  the  character  of  the  President.  He 
may  have  every  virtue;  his  life  may  be  exemplary 
in  every  way ;  but  if  he  shares  the  views  of  the  man 
who  placed  him  in  nomination,  if  he  believes  with 
his  sponsor  that  wars  must  settle  the  destinies  of 
nations;  that  peace  is  but  an  idle,  childish  dream, 
that  women  may  pray  for  it ;  that  men  may 
prophesy  about  it;  but  that  all  this  talk  of  " or 
derly  tribunals  and  learned  referees"  is  but  an 
empty  sound — if  he  believes  these  things  he  is  a 
dangerous  man  for  our  country  and  for  the  world. 
I  believe  he  ought  to  be  defeated ;  I  believe  he  can 
be  defeated;  and  if  the  Democratic  party  does 
what  it  ought  to  do,  I  believe  he  will  be  defeated. 
How  can  he  be  defeated?  As  your  candidate  I 
tried  to  defeat  the  Republican  party.  I  failed,  you 
say  ?  Yes,  I  failed.  I  received  a  million  more  votes 
than  any  Democrat  had  ever  received  before,  and 
yet  I  failed.  Why  did  I  fail?  Because  some  who 
had  affiliated  with  the  Democratic  party  thought 
my  election  would  be  injurious  to  the  country,  and 
they  left  the  party  and  helped  to  elect  my  opponent. 
That  is  why  I  failed.  I  have  no  words  of  criticism 
for  them.  I  have  always  believed,  I  believe  to 
night,  I  shall  ever  believe,  I  hope,  that  a  man's  duty 
to  his  country  is  higher  than  his  duty  to  his  party. 
I  hope  that  men  of  all  parties  will  have  the  moral 
courage  to  leave  their  parties  when  they  believe 
that  to  stay  with  their  parties  would  injure  their 
country.  The  success  of  our  Government  depends 
upon  the  independence  and  the  moral  courage  of 
its  citizens. 


54  BRYAN  S  SPEECHES 

But,  my  friends,  if  I,  with  six  million  and  a  half 
votes,  failed  to  defeat  the  Republican  party,  can 
those  who  defeated  me  succeed  in  defeating  the  Re 
publican  party?  If  under  the  leadership  of  those 
who  were  loyal  in  1896  we  failed,  shall  we  succeed 
under  the  leadership  of  those  who  were  not  loyal 
in  1896? 

If  we  are  going  to  have  some  other  god  besides 
this  modern  Mars,  presented  to  us  by  Governor 
Black,  what  kind  of  a  god  is  it  to  be?  Must 
we  choose  between  a  god  of  war  and  a  god  of 
gold? 

If  there  is  anything  that  compares  in  hatefulnesa 
with  militarism,  it  is  plutocracy,  and  I  insist  that 
the  Democratic  party  ought  not  to  be  compelled  to 
choose  between  militarism  on  the  one  side  and  plu 
tocracy  on  the  other. 

We  have  agreed  upon  a  platform,  after  a  session 
of  sixteen  hours.  We  entered  the  committee  room 
at  8  last  evening  and  left  it  at  12  today.  But  I 
never  employed  sixteen  hours  to  better  advantage 
in  my  life.  I  helped  to  bring  the  party  together. 
The  report  was  unanimous  and  we  can  go  before 
the  country  with  a  united  party. 

How  did  we  reach  an  agreement?  The  platform 
is  not  all  that  we  of  the  West  desired ;  it  is  not  all 
that  our  Eastern  Democrats  desired.  We  had  to 
consent  to  the  omission  of  some  things  that  we 
wanted  in  the  platform.  They  had  to  consent  to 
the  omission  of  some  things  that  they  wanted  in  the 
platform.  But  by  mutual  concession  we  agreed 
upon  a  platform,  and  wre  will  stand  on  that  plat 
form  in  this  campaign. 


THE  ST.  LOUIS  CONVENTION          55 

But,  my  friends,  we  need  more  than  a  platform. 
We  must  nominate  a  ticket,  and  that  is  the  work 
now  before  this  convention.  Had  a  majority  of  you 
come  to  this  convention  instructed  for  any  man  I 
not  only  would  not  ask  you  to  disregard  your  in 
structions;  I  would  not,  if  I  could  prevent  it,  per 
mit  you  to  disregard  your  instructions. 

I  believe  in  the  right  of  the  people  to  rule.  I 
believe  in  the  right  of  the  people  to  instruct  their 
delegates,  and  when  a  delegate  is  instructed,  the 
instruction  is  binding  upon  him.  But  no  candidate 
comes  with  a  majority  instructed  for  him.  That 
means  that  you,  the  delegates,  are  left  to  select  a 
candidate  upon  your  own  responsibility — and  a 
grave  responsibility  it  is,  grave  indeed  is  the  re 
sponsibility  resting  upon  the  delegates  assembled 
in  this  convention ! 

I  have  not  come  to  ask  anything  of  this  conven 
tion.  Nebraska  asks  nothing  but  to  be  permitted 
to  fight  the  battles  of  democracy ;  that  is  all.  Some 
of  you  call  me  a  dictator.  It  is  false.  You  know 
it  is  false.  How  have  I  tried  to  dictate!  I  have 
said  that  I  thought  certain  things  ought  to  be  done. 
Have  you  not  exercised  the  same  privilege?  Why 
have  I  not  a  right  to  suggest  ?  Because  I  was  your 
candidate,  have  I  forfeited  forever  the  right  to 
make  suggestions?  Sirs,  if  that  condition  was  at 
tached  to  a  nomination  for  the  presidency,  no  man 
worthy  to  be  president  would  ever  accept  a  nomina 
tion,  for  the  right  of  a  man  to  have  an  opinion  and 
to  express  it  is  more  important  and  more  sacred 
than  the  holding  of  any  office  however  high. 

I  exprest  my  opinion  in  regard  to  the  platform; 


56  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

I  made  my  suggestions.  Not  all  of  them  were 
adopted.  I  should  like  to  have  seen  the  Kansas 
City  platform  reaffirmed.  I  am  not  ashamed  of 
that  platform.  I  believe  in  it  now,  as  I  believed  in 
it  when  I  was  running  upon  it  as  your  candidate, 
but  the  delegates  do  not  agree  with  me,  and  their 
will  is  supreme  in  the  making  of  the  platform. 
When  they  veto  my  suggestions,  I  must  submit; 
there  is  no  other  court  to  which  I  can  appeal. 

Neither  have  I  attempted  to  dictate  in  regard  to 
candidates.  I  have  not  asked  the  Democrats  of  this 
nation  to  nominate  any  particular  man.  I  have 
said  and  repeat  that  there  are  men  in  every  State 
qualified  for  the  presidency ;  I  have  said  and  repeat 
that  out  of  the  six  and  a  half  millions  who  voted 
for  me  in  both  campaigns,  we  ought  to  be  able  to 
find  at  least  one  man  fit  to  be  president.  I  have 
made  these  suggestions,  but  they  are  only  sugges 
tions.  I  am  here  to-night  as  a  delegate  from  Ne 
braska.  I  have  not  confidence  enough  in  my  own 
judgment  to  tell  you  that  I  can  pick  out  a  man  and 
say,  "This  man  must  be  nominated  or  we  shall 
lose."  I  have,  I  think,  a  reasonable  faith  in  my 
own  opinions;  at  least  I  would  rather  stand  by 
my  opinion  if  I  believe  it  right  than  to  accept  the 
opinion  of  any  one  else  if  I  believe  that  opinion  to 
be  wrong. 

But  Nebraska  is  not  here  asking  for  the  nomina 
tion  of  any  particular  man.  We  have  a  platform  on 
which  we  all  can  stand.  Now  give  us  a  ticket  be 
hind  which  all  of  us  can  stand.  Go  into  any  State 
you  please  for  a  candidate.  I  have  not  as  much 
faith  as  some  have  in  the  value  of  locality.  I  have 


THE  ST.  LOUIS  CONVENTION          57 

never  believed  much  in  nominating  candidates  from 
doubtful  States  on  the  theory  that  their  personal 
popularity  would  elect  them. 

I  have  so  much  confidence  in  Democratic  princi 
ples  that  I  think  a  Democrat  ought  to  vote  for  a 
good  man  from  any  other  State  rather  than  vote 
for  a  bad  man  from  his  own  State.  The  State  pride 
argument  is  often  given  too  much  weight.  I  have 
found  that  when  people  come  with  a  candidate  and 
tell  us,  first,  that  we  must  carry  a  certain  State, 
and,  second,  that  their  man  is  the  only  one  who 
can  carry  that  State,  they  do  not  put  up  a  bond 
to  deliver  the  votes.  Arid  then,  anyhow,  a  State 
which  is  so  uncertain  that  only  one  Democrat  in  the 
nation  can  carry  it,  cannot  be  relied  upon  in  a 
great  crisis. 

Select  a  candidate.  If  it  is  the  wish  of  this  con 
vention  that  the  standard  shall  be  placed  in  the 
hand  of  the  gentleman  presented  by  California,  a 
man  who,  tho  he  has  money,  pleads  the  cause  of  the 
poor;  the  man  who  is  best  beloved,  I  think  I  can 
safely  say,  among  laboring  men,  of  all  the  candi 
dates  proposed ;  the  man  who  more  than  any  other 
represents  opposition  to  the  trusts — if  you  want  to 
place  the  standard  in  his  hand  and  make  Mr.  Hearst 
the  candidate  of  this  convention,  Nebraska  will  be 
with  you  in  the  fight. 

If  you  think  that  the  gentleman  from  Wisconsin 
who,  tho  faithful  in  both  campaigns,  was  not  with 
us  on  the  money  question — if  you  think  that  Mr. 
Wall,  who  agrees  with  the  East  on  the  gold  ques 
tion  and  with  the  West  on  other  questions,  would 
draw  the  party  together,  place  the  standard  in  his 

115 


58  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

Land,  and  Nebraska  will  be  with  you  and  contribute 
her  part. 

If  you  prefer  an  Eastern  man  and  can  find  some 
one  who  will  give  both  elements  of  the  party  some 
thing  to  believe  in,  something  to  trust  in,  something 
to  hope  for,  we  are  willing  to  join  you  in  selecting 
him  as  the  standard-bearer. 

Not  all  of  the  available  men  have  been  mentioned. 
There  is  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  a  man  whom 
I  desire  to  suggest,  and  I  do  it  without  consulting 
his  delegation  and  without  the  consent  of  the  man 
himself.  He  is  an  Eastern  man,  who  voted  with  us 
in  both  campaigns,  altho  against  us  on  the  money 
question,  but,  I  believe,  he  is  in  sympathy  with 
the  people ;  a  man  twice  governor  of  a  great  State ; 
a  man  wrho  only  two  years  ago  when  again  a  can 
didate,  carried  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  outside 
of  the  two  great  cities  of  Philadelphia  and  Pitts- 
burg. 

If  you  Eastern  Democrats  who  insist  that  your 
objection  to  me  is  that  I  believe  in  free  silver — if 
you  are  willing  to  take  ex-Governor  Pattison,  a  gold 
man,  I  am  willing  to  let  you  have  your  way  on  that 
question,  for  I  will  trust  his  honesty  on  all  ques 
tions.  But  I  only  mention  these  candidates  by  way 
of  illustration. 

I  desire  to  second  the  nomination  of  a  man  whose 
name  has  already  been  presented,  and  I  second  his 
nomination,  not  because  I  can  assert  to  you  that  he 
is  more  available  than  any  other  person  who  might 
be  named,  but  because  I  love  the  man  and  because 
on  the  platform  we  have  adopted  there  is  no  good 
reason  why  any  Democrat  in  the  East  should  vote 


THE  ST.  LOUIS  CONVENTION          o9 

against  him.  I  desire  to  second  the  nomination  of 
Senator  Cockrell  of  Missouri. 

He  is  the  Nestor  of  the  Senate ;  he  is  experienced 
in  public  affairs.  He  is  known ;  he  has  a  record, 
and  can  be  measured  by  it.  I  would  be  willing  to 
write  my  indorsement  on  his  back  and  guarantee 
everything  he  did. 

It  is  said  that  he  comes  from  the  South.  What 
if  he  does?  I  do  not  share  the  feeling  that  some 
have  that  the  Democratic  party  cannot  take  a  can 
didate  from  the  South.  It  is  said  he  was  in  the 
Confederate  army.  What  if  he  was?  I  do  not 
share  the  belief  of  those  who  say  that  we  cannot 
afford  to  nominate  an  ex-Confederate.  That  war, 
that  cruel  war,  occurred  forty  years  ago.  Its  issues 
are  settled;  its  wounds  are  healed,  and  the  partici 
pants  are  friends.  We  have  another  war  on  now, 
and  those  who  know  what  the  war  between  democ 
racy  and  plutocracy  means,  will  not  ask  where  the 
candidate  stood  forty  years  ago ;  they  will  ask  where 
he  stands  today — on  which  side  he  is  fighting  in 
the  present  conflict. 

The  great  issue  in  this  country  today  is  "Democ 
racy  versus  Plutocracy."  I  have  boon  accused  of 
having  but  one  idea — silver.  A  while  back  it  was 
said  that  I  had  only  one,  but  then  it  was  tariff  re 
form.  But  there  is  an  issue  greater  than  the  silver 
issue,  the  tariff  issue  or  the  trust  issue.  It  is  the 
issue  between  the  democracy  and  plutocracy — 
whether  this  is  to  be  a  government  of  the  people, 
and  administered  by  officers  chosen  by  the  people, 
and  administered  in  behalf  of  the  people,  or  a  gov 
ernment  by  the  moneyed  element  of  the  country  in 


60  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

the  interest  of  predatory  wealth.  This  issue  is 
growing. 

I  ask  you  to  help  us  meet  this  issue.  You  tell  me 
that  the  Republican  candidate  stands  for  militar 
ism.  Yes,  but  he  also  stands  for  plutocracy.  You 
tell  me  that  he  delights  in  war.  Yes,  but  there  is 
another  objection  to  him,  and  that  is  that  he  does 
not  enforce  the  law  against  a  big  criminal  as  he 
does  against  a  little  criminal.  The  laws  are  being 
violated  today,  and  those  laws  must  be  enforced. 
The  government  must  be  administered  according  to 
the  maxim:  " Equal  rights  to  all  and  special  priv 
ileges  to  none." 

We  have  had  the  debauchment  of  elections.  It 
was  stated  the  other  day  that  into  the  little  State 
of  Delaware,  two  hundred  and  fifty-six  thousand 
dollars  were  sent  at  one  time  just  before  the  election 
of  1896.  Some  say  that  our  party  must  have  a 
great  campaign  fund  and  bid  against  the  Repub 
licans.  Let  me  warn  you  that  if  the  Democratic 
party  is  to  save  this  nation,  it  must  save  it,  not  by 
purchase,  but  by  principle.  That  is  the  only  way 
to  save  it.  Every  time  we  resort  to  purchase,  we 
encourage  the  spirit  of  barter.  Under  such  a  sys 
tem  the  price  will  constantly  increase,  and  the  elec 
tions  will  go  to  the  highest  bidder.  If  the  Demo 
cratic  party  is  to  save  this  country,  it  must  appeal 
to  the  conscience  of  the  country.  It  must  point  out 
the  dangers  to  the  Republic ;  and  if  the  party  will 
nominate  a  man,  I  care  not  from  what  part  of  the 
country  he  comes,  who  is  not  the  candidate  of  a  fac 
tion,  who  is  not  the  candidate  of  an  element,  but 
the  candidate  of  the  party,  the  party  will  stand  by 


THE  ST.  LOUIS  CONVENTION          61 

him  and  will  drive  the  Republican  party  from 
power. 

You  could,  I  believe,  take  a  man  from  any  South 
ern  State — a  man  who  would  appeal  to  all  Demo 
crats  who  love  democratic  principles,  and  to  those 
Republicans  who  begin  to  fear  for  their  nation's 
welfare,  and  he  would  poll  a  million  more  votes 
than  the  candidate  of  any  faction  whose  selection 
would  be  regarded  as  a  triumph  of  a  part  of  the 
party  over  the  rest  of  the  party. 

I  simply  submit  these  suggestions  for  your  con 
sideration.  I  am  here  to  discharge  a  duty  that  I 
owe  to  the  party.  I  knew  before  coming  to  this 
convention  that  a  majority  of  the  delegates  would 
not  agree  with  me  in  regard  to  the  financial  plank. 
I  knew  that  there  would  be  among  the  delegates 
many  who  voted  against  me  when  I  sorely  needed 
their  help.  I  am  not  objecting  to  the  majority 
against  me,  nor  to  the  presence  of  those  who  left  us 
in  1896  and  have  since  returned,  but  I  am  here,  not 
because  I  enjoy  being  in  the  minority,  but  because  I 
owe  a  duty  to  the  more  than  six  million  brave  and 
loyal  men  who  sacrificed  for  the  ticket  in  recent 
campaigns.  I  came  to  get  them  as  gocd  a  platform 
as  I  could;  I  have  helped  to  get  them  a  good  plat 
form.  I  came  to  help  to  get  as  good  a  candidate  as 
possible,  and  I  hope  that  he  will  be  one  who  can 
draw  the  factions  together ;  one  who  will  give  to  us 
who  believe  in  positive,  aggressive,  democratic  re 
form,  something  to  hope  for,  something  to  fight  for 
— one  who  will  also  give  to  those  who  have  differed 
from  us  on  the  money  question  something  to  hope 
for,  something  to  fight  for.  And  I  close  with  an 


62  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

appeal  from  my  heart  to  the  hearts  of  those  who 
hear  me :  Give  us  a  pilot  who  will  guide  the  Demo 
cratic  ship  away  from  the  Scylla  of  militarism  with 
out  wrecking  her  upon  the  Charybdis  of  commer 
cialism. 


VI 
AT  THE  NEW  YORK   RECEPTION 

Delivered  in  Madison  Square  Garden,  New  York  City,  on 
Aug.  30,  1900,  at  the  reception  tendered  to  Mr.  Bryan  on 
his  return  from  a  year's  trip  a  round  the  world.  The  meet 
ing  was  in  charge  of  the  Traveling  Men's  Bryan  Club,  but 
was  participated  in  by  Democrats  of  the  entire  country, 
delegations  being  present  from  nearly  every  State. 

HOW  can  I  thank  you  for  this  welcome  home! 
I  would  be  hard-hearted  indeed  if  I  were 
not  touched  by  this  demonstration;  I 
would  be  ungrateful  if  I  did  not  dedicate  myself 
anew  to  your  service.  It  was  kind  of  the  Com 
mercial  Travelers'  Anti-Trust  League  to  prepare 
this  reception ;  it  was  kind  of  Governor  Folk  to 
come  all  the  way  from  Missouri  to  participate  in  it ; 
it  was  kind  of  Mayor  Johnson  to  lend  his  presence ; 
it  was  kind  of  Mr.  Thomas  to  give  voice  to  your 
good-will  in  his  elocaient  and  more  than  compli 
mentary  address.  I  am  grateful  to  you  all — most 
grateful. 

Like  all  travelers  who  have  visited  other  lands,  I 
return  with  delight  to  the  land  of  my  birth,  jrnore 
proud  of  its  people,  with  more  confidence  in  its 
Government,  and  grateful  to  tBe  land  Providence 
that  cast  my  lot  in  the  United  States.  My  national 
pride  has  been  increased  because  of  the  abundant 
evidence  I  have  seen  of  the  altruistic  interest  taken 
(63) 


64  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

(by  Americans  in  the  people  of  other  countries.  No 
other  nation  can  show  such  a  record  of  benevolence 
and  disinterested  friendship.  My  love  for  our  form 
of  government  has  been  quickened  as  I  have  visited 
castles  and  towers,  and  peered  into  dark  dungeons, 
and  I  am  glad  that  our  nation,  profiting  by  the  ex 
perience  of  the  past  and  yet  unhampered  by  tradi 
tions  and  unfettered  by  caste,  has  been  permitted 
to  form  a  new  center  of  civilization  on  new  soil  and 
erect  here  ' i  a  government  of  the  people,  by  the  peo 
ple  and  for  the  people." 

I  also  return  more  deeply  imprest  than  ever  be 
fore  with  the  responsibility  that  rests  upon  our  na 
tion  as  an  exemplar  among  the  nations,  and  more 
solicitoiis  tliaf  we,  avoiding  the  causes  which  have 
led  other  nations  to  decay,  may  present  a  higher 
ideal  than  has  ever  before  been  embodied  in  a  na- 
I  tional  life  and  carry  human  progress  to  a  higher 
plane  than  it  has  before  reached. 

I  desire,  moreover,  to  acknowledge  indebtedness 
to  the  American  officials  who  have  everywhere 
shown  us  all  possible  courtesy  and  kindness.  I  do 
not  know  that  I  can  better  show  my  appreciation  of 
'  the  welcome  accorded  me  by  my  countrymen  than 
to  submit  some  suggestions  drawn  from  observa 
tions  during  the  past  year. 

A  Japanese  educator,  addressing  me  through  an 
interpreter,  said :  "I  wish  you  would  find  the  worst 
thing  in  Japan  and  tell  us  about  it  so  that  we  may 
correct  it."  I  commended  the  generous  spirit  which 
he  manifested,  but  assured  him  that  I  had  not  vis 
ited  Japan  in  search  of  faults  and  blemishes,  but 
rather  that  I  might  find  the  best  things  in  Japan 


AT  THE  N.  Y.  RECEPTION  65 

and  take  them  home  for  the  benefit  of  my  own 
people.  Each  nation  can  give  lessons  to  every 
other,  and  while  our  nation  is  in  a  position  to  make 
the  largest  contribution,  as  I  believe,  to  the  educa 
tion  of  the  world,  it  ought  to  remain  in  the  attitude 
of  a  pupil  and  be  ever  ready  to  profit  by  the  experi 
ence  of  others. 

The  first  message  that  I  bring  from  the  old  world 
is  a  message  of  peace.  The  cause  of  arbitration  is 
making  real  progress  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
nations  most  prominent  in  the  establishment  of  The 
Hague  tribunal  have  themselves  been  engaged  in 
wars  since  that  court  was  organized.  There  is  a 
perceptible  growth  in  sentiment  in  favor  of  the  set 
tlement  of  international  disputes  by  peaceful 
means.  It  was  my  good  fortune  to  be  present  at  the 
last  session  of  the  Inter-parliamentary  Union, 
which  convened  in  London  on  the  23d  of  July. 
Twenty-six  nations  were  represented,  and  these  in 
cluded  all  the  leading  nations  of  the  world.  This 
peace  congress,  as  it  is  generally  known,  not  only 
adopted  resolutions  in  favor  of  the  limitation  of 
armaments  and  the  arbitration  of  all  questions  re 
lating  to  debts,  but  unanimously  indorsed  the  prop 
osition  that  all  disputes  of  every  nature  should  be 
submitted  to  an  impartial  tribunal  for  investiga 
tion,  or  to  the  mediation  of  friendly  nations  be 
fore  hostilities  are  commenced. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  point  out  the  importance 
of  the  position  taken.  The  embodiment  of  the  sug 
gestion  in  treaties  would  go  a  long  way  toward  re 
moving  the  probability  of  war.  While  the  idea  is 
of  American  origin,  it  was  heartily  accepted  by 


66  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

the  representatives  of  England,  France,  Germany 
and  other  European  countries. 

I  believe  that  if  our  nation  would  propose  to 
make  with  every  other  nation  a  treaty  providing 
that  all  questions  in  dispute  between  the  parties 
should  be  submitted  to  The  Hague  court,  or  some 
other  impartial  international  tribunal,  for  investi 
gation  and  report  before  any  declaration  of  war  or 
commencement  of  hostilities,  it  would  find  many 
nations  willing  to  enter  into  such  a  compact.  I 
am  sure  from  the  public  utterances  of  the  present 
prime  minister  of  Great  Britain,  Sir  Henry  Camp- 
bell-Bannerman,  that  such  a  treaty  could  be  made 
between  the  two  great  English-speaking  nations  and 
their  example  would  be  followed  until  the  danger 
of  war  would  be  almost,  if  not  entirely,  removed. 
To  take  the  lead  in  such  a  movement  would  estab 
lish  our  position  as  a  world  power  in  the  best  sense 
of  the  term. 

"What  argument  can  be  advanced  against  such 
action  on  the  part  of  the  United  States?  Shall  we 
yield  to  any  other  nation  in  the  estimate  to  be 
placed  upon  the  value  of  human  life?  I  confess 
that  my  aversion  to  killing  increases  with  the  years. 
Surely  the  Creator  did  not  so  plan  the  universe  as 
to  make  the  progress  of  the  race  dependent  upon 
wholesale  blood-letting.  I  prefer  to  believe  that 
war,  instead  of  being  an  agency  for  good,  is  rather 
an  evidence  of  man's  surrender  to  his  passions,  and 
that  one  of  the  tests  of  civilization  is  man's  willing 
ness  to  submit  his  controversies  to  the  arbitrament 
of  reason  rather  than  of  force. 

Another  subject  connected  with  our  foreign  rela- 


AT  THE  X.  Y.  RECEPTION  67 

tions:  I  venture  to  suggest  that  we  may  not  only 
promote  peace  but  also  advance  our  commercial  in-  j 
terests  by  announcing  as  a  national  policy  that  our 
navy  will  not  be  used  for  the  collection  of  private  ' 
debts.  While  protecting  the  lives  of  our  citizens 
everywhere  and  guaranteeing  personal  safety  to  all 
who  owe  allegiance  to  our  flag,  we  should,  in  my 
judgment,  announce  that  persons  engaging  in  busi 
ness  and  holding  property  in  other  lands  for  busi 
ness  purposes  must  be  subject  to  the  laws  of  the 
countries  in  which  they  engage  in  business  enter 
prises.  Many  profitable  fields  of  investment  are 
now  closed  because  the  people  of  the  smaller  na 
tions  are  afraid  that  an  investment  of  foreign  capi 
tal  will  be  made  an  excuse  for  a  foreign  invasion. 
Several  times  on  this  trip  this  fact  has  been  brought 
to  my  attention  and  I  am  convinced  that  for  every 
dollar  we  could  secure  to  American  investors  by 
an  attempt  to  put  the  Government  back  of  their 
private  claims  we  would  lose  many  dollars  by  clos 
ing  the  door  to  investment.  Mark  the  distinction 
between  the  protection  of  the  lives  of  our  citizens 
and  the  use  of  the  navy  to  guarantee  a  profit  on 
investments.  We  do  not  imprison  for  debt  in  the 
United  States,  neither  do  we  put  men  to  death  be 
cause  of  their  failure  to  pay  what  they  owe,  and 
our  moral  prestige  as  well  as  our  commercial  inter 
ests  will  be  conserved  by  assuring  all  nations  that 
American  investments  depend  for  protection  upon 
the  laws  of  the  country  to  which  the  investors  go. 

Before  leaving  international  politics  let  me  add 
that  our  nation  has  lost  prestige  rather  than  gained 
it  by  our  experiment  in  colonialism.  We  have  given 


68  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

the  monarchist  a  chance  to  ridicule  our  Declaration 
of  Independence  and  the  scoffer  has  twitted  us  with 
inconsistency.  A  tour  through  the  Philippine 
Islands  has  deepened  the  conviction  that  we  should 
lose  no  time  in  announcing  our  purpose  to  deal  with 
the  Filipinos  as  we  dealt  with  the  Cubans.  Every 
consideration,  commercial  and  political,  leads  to 
this  conclusion.  Such  ground  as  we  may  need  for 
coaling  stations  or  for  a  naval  base  will  be  gladly 
conceded  by  the  Filipinos,  who  simply  desire  an 
opportunity  to  work  out  their  own  destiny,  inspired 
by  our  example  and  aided  by  our  advice.  In  so  far 
as  our  efforts  have  been  directed  toward  the  educa 
tion  of  the  Filipinos,  we  have  rendered  them  a  dis 
tinct  service ;  but  in  educating  them  we  must  recog 
nize  that  we  are  making  colonialism  impossible.  If 
we  intended  to  hold  them  as  subjects  we  would  not 
dare  to  educate  them.  Self-government  with  ulti 
mate  independence  must  be  assumed  if  we  con 
template  universal  education  in  the  Philippines. 
As  soon  as  opportunity  offers  I  shall  discuss  the 
Philippine  question  more  at  length,  and  I  shall  also 
refer  to  English  rule  in  India,  for  it  throws  light 
upon  our  own  problems  in  the  Philippines,  but 
these  subjects  must  be  reserved  until  I  can  speak 
more  in  detail. 

In  several  of  the  nations  of  Europe,  the  legisla 
tive  department  of  government  is  more  quickly  re- 
JBponsive  to  public  sentiment  than  is  our  Congress. 
[n  England,  for  instance,  where  the  ministry  is 
formed  from  the  dominant  party,  when  an  election 
is  held  upon  any  important  issue  the  government 
>roceeds  to  put  into  law  the  will  of  the  people  ex- 


AT  THE  N.  Y.  EECEPTION  69 

prest  at  the  polls.  "While  our  system  is  superior  in 
many  respects,  it  has  one  defect,  viz. :  that  Congress 
does  not  meet  in  regular  session  until  thirteen 
months  after  the  election.  During  this  period  there 
is  uncertainty,  long  drawn  out,  which  to  the  busi 
ness  community  is  often  more  damaging  than  a 
change  of  policy  promptly  carried  into  effect. 
Would  not  the  situation  be  improved  by  a  constitu 
tional  amendment  convening  the  first  session  of 
Congress  within  a  few  months  after  the  election  and 
compelling  the  second  session  to  adjourn  several 
days  before  the  following  election?  Such  a  change 
would  not  only  protect  legitimate  business  interests 
and  give  the  public  the  benefit  of  more  prompt  re 
lief  through  remedial  legislation,  but  it  would  pro 
tect  the  people  from  the  jobs  that  are  usually  re 
served  for  the  short  session  which  is  now  held  after 
the  election  and  when  many  of  the  members 
feel  less  responsibility  because  of  defeat  at  the 
polls. 

I  return  more  strongly  convinced  than  before  of 
the  importance  of  a  change  in  the  methods  of  elect 
ing  United  States  Senators.  There  is  noticeable 
everywhere  a  distinct  movement  toward  democracy 
in  its  broadest  sense.  In  all  the  countries  which  I 
have  visited  there  is  a  demand  that  the  government 
be  brought  nearer  to  the  people ;  in  China  a  consti 
tution  is  under  consideration ;  in  Japan  the  people 
are  demanding  that  the  ministry,  instead  of  being 
chosen  by  the  emperor  from  among  his  particular 
friends,  shall  be  selected  from  parliament  and  be 
in  harmony  with  the  dominant  sentiment ;  in  India 
there  is  agitation  in  favor  of  a  native  congress;  ia  ; 


70  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

Russia  the  Czar  has  been  compelled  to  recognize  the 
popular  voice  in  the  establishment  of  a  douma,  and 
throughout  Europe  the  movement  manifests  itself 
in  various  forms.  In  the  United  States  this  trend 
toward  democracy  has  taken  the  form  of  a  growing 
demand  for  the  election  of  United  States  Senators 
by  a  direct  vote  of  the  people.  It  would  be  difficult 
to  overestimate  the  strategic  advantages  of  this  re 
form,  for  since  every  bill  must  receive  the  sanction 
of  the  Senate  as  well  as  the  House  of  Representa 
tives  before  it  can  become  a  law,  no  important  reme 
dial  legislation  of  a  national  character  is  possible 
until  the  Senate  is  brought  into  harmony  with  the 
people. 

I  am  within  the  limits  of  the  truth  when  I  say 
that  the  Senate  has  been  for  years  the  bulwark  of 
predatory  wealth,  and  that  it  even  now  contains 
so  many  members  who  owe  their  election  to  favor- 
seeking  corporations  and  are  so  subservient  to  their 
masters  as  to  prevent  needed  legislation.  The  pop 
ular  branch  of  Congress  has  four  times  declared  in 
favor  of  this  reform  by  a  two-thirds  vote  and  more 
than  two-thirds  of  the  States  have  demanded  it,  yet 
the  Senate  arrogantly  and  impudently  blocks  the 
way. 

The  income  tax,  which  some  in  our  country  have 
denounced  as  a  socialistic  attack  upon  wealth,  has, 
I  am  pleased  to  report,  the  indorsement  of  the  most 
conservative  countries  in  the  old  world.  It  is  a 
permanent  part  of  the  fiscal  system  of  many  of  the 
nations  of  Europe  and  in  several  places  it  is  a 
graded  tax,  the  rate  being  highest  upon  the  largest 
incomes.  England  has  long  depended  upon  the  in- 


AT  THE  N.  Y.  RECEPTION  71 

come  tax  for  a  considerable  part  of  her  revenues 
and  an  English  commission  is  now  investigating  the 
proposition  to  change  from  a  uniform  to  a  graded 
tax. 

I  have  been  absent  too  long  to  speak  with  any 
authority  on  the  public  sentiment  in  this  country  at 
this  time,  but  I  am  so  convinced  of  the  justice  of 
the  income  tax  that  I  feel  sure  that  the  people  will 
sooner  or  later  demand  an  amendment  to  the  con 
stitution  which  will  specifically  authorize  an  income 
tax,  and  thus  make  it  possible  for  the  burdens  of 
the  Federal  Government  to  be  apportioned  among 
the  people  in  proportion  to  their  ability  to  bear 
them.  It  is  little  short  of  a  disgrace  to  our  coun 
try  that  while  it  is  able  to  command  the  lives  of  its 
citizens  in  time  of  war,  it  cannot,  even  in  the  most 
extreme  emergency,  compel  wealth  to  bear  its  share 
of  the  expenses  of  the  Government  which  protects  it. 

I  have  referred  to  the  investigation  of  interna 
tional  controversies  under  a  system  which  does  not 
bind  the  parties  to  accept  the  findings  of  the  court 
of  inquiry.  This  plan  can  be  used  in  disputes  be 
tween  labor  and  capital;  in  fact,  it  was  proposed 
as  a  means  of  settling  such  disputes  before  it  was 
applied  to  international  controversies.  It  is  as  im 
portant  that  we  shall  have  peace  at  home  as  that 
we  shall  live  peaceably  with  neighboring  nations, 
and  peace  is  only  possible  when  it  rests  upon  jus 
tice.  In  advocating  arbitration  of  differences  be 
tween  large  corporate  employers  and  their  em 
ployees,  I  believe  we  are  defending  the  highest  in 
terests  of  the  three  parties  to  these  disputes,  viz.: 
the  employers,  the  employees  and  the  public.  The 


72  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

employee  cannot  be  turned  over  to  the  employer  to 
be  dealt  with  as  the  employer  may  please. 

The  question  sometimes  asked,  "Can  I  not  con 
duct  my  business  to  suit  myself  ?"  is  a  plausible 
one ;  but  when  a  man  in  conducting  his  business  at 
tempts  arbitrarily  to  fix  the  conditions  under  which 
hundreds  of  employees  are  to  live  and  to  determine 
the  future  of  thousands  of  human  beings,  I  answer 
without  hesitation  that  he  has  no  right  to  conduct 
his  own  business  in  such  a  way  as  to  deprive  his 
employees  of  the  right  to  life,  liberty  and  the  pur 
suit  of  happiness.  To  support  this  position  I  need 
only  refer  to  the  laws  regulating  the  safety  of 
mines,  the  factory  laws  fixing  the  age  at  which  chil 
dren  can  be  employed,  and  usury  laws  establishing 
the  rate  of  interest.  The  effort  of  the  employer 
to  settle  differences  without  arbitration  has  done 
much  to  embitter  him  against  those  who  work  for 
him  and  to  estrange  them  from  him — a  condition 
deplorable  from  every  standpoint. 

But  if  it  is  unwise  to  make  the  employer  the 
sole  custodian  of  the  rights  and  interests  of  the 
employees,  it  is  equally  unwise  to  give  the  em- 
ployee  uncontrolled  authority  over  the  rights  and 
interests  of  the  employer.  The  employees  are  no 
more  to  be  trusted  to  act  unselfishly  and  disinter 
estedly  than  the  employers.  In  their  zeal  to  secure 
a  present  advantage  they  may  not  only  do  injus 
tice,  but  even  forfeit  a  larger  future  gain. 

The  strike,  the  only  weapon  of  the  employee  at 
present,  is  a  two-edged  sword  and  may  injure  the 
workman  as  much  as  the  employer,  and  even  when 
wholly  successful  is  apt  to  leave  a  rankling  in  the 


AT  THE  N.  Y.  RECEPTION  73 

bosom  of  the  wage-earner  that  ought  not  to  be  there. 
Society  has,  moreover,  something  at  stake  as  well  as 
the  employer  and  employee,  for  there  can  be  no  con 
siderable  strike  without  considerable  loss  to  the 
public.  Society,  therefore,  is  justified  in  demand 
ing  that  the  differences  between  capital  and  labor 
shall  be  settled  by  peaceful  means.  If  a  perma 
nent,  impartial  board  is  created,  to  which  either 
party  of  an  industrial  dispute  may  appeal,  or  which 
can  on  its  own  motion  institute  an  inquiry,  public 
opinion  may  be  relied  upon  to  enforce  the  finding. 
If  there  is  compulsory  submission  to  investigation 
it  is  not  necessary  that  there  shall  be  compulsory 
acceptance  of  the  decision,  for  a  full,  and  fair  in 
vestigation  will,  in  almost  every  case,  bring  about 
a  settlement. 

No  reference  to  the  labor  question  is  complete 
that  does  not  include  some  mention  of  what  is 
known  as  government  by  injunction.  As  the  main 
purpose  of  the  writ  is  to  evade  trial  by  jury,  it  is 
really  an  attack  upon  the  jury  system  and  ought 
to  arouse  a  unanimous  protest.  However,  as  the 
writ  is  usually  invoked  in  case  of  a  strike,  the  im 
portance  of  the  subject  would  be  very  much  re 
duced  by  the  adoption  of  a  system  of  arbitration, 
because  arbitration  would  very  much  reduce,  even 
if  it  did  not  entirely  remove,  the  probability  of  a 
strike. 

Just  another  word  in  regard  to  the  laboring  man.  » 
The  struggle  to  secure  an  eight-hour  day  is  an  in 
ternational  struggle  and  it  is  sure  to  be  settled  in 
favor  of  the  workingman's  contention.  The  benefits 
of  the  labor-saving  machine  have  not  been  distrib- 


74  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

uted  with  equity.  The  producer  has  enormously 
multiplied  his  capacity,  but  so  far  the  owner  of  the 
machine  has  received  too  much  of  the  increase  and 
the  laborer  too  little.  Those  who  oppose  the  eight- 
hour  day  do  it,  I  am  convinced,  more  because  of  ig 
norance  of  conditions  than  because  of  lack  of  sym 
pathy  with  those  who  toil.  The  removal  of  work 
from  the  house  to  the  factory  has  separated  the  hus 
band  from  his  wife  and  the  father  from  his  children, 
while  the  growth  of  our  cities  has  put  an  increasing 
distance  between  the  home  and  the  workshop.  Then, 
too,  more  is  demanded  of  the  laboring  man  now 
than  formerly.  He  is  a  citizen  as  well  as  a  laborer, 
and  must  have  time  for  the  study  of  public  ques 
tions  if  he  is  to  be  an  intelligent  sovereign.  To 
drive  him  from  his  bed  to  his  task  and  from  his 
task  back  to  his  bed  is  to  deprive  the  family  of  his 
companionship,  society  of  his  service  and  politics  of 
his  influence. 

Thus  far  I  have  dwelt  upon  subjects  which  may 
not  be  regarded  as  strictly  partizan,  but  I  am  sure 
that  you  will  pardon  me  if  in  this  presence  I  betray 
my  interest  in  those  policies  for  which  the  Demo 
cratic  party  stands.  I  have  not  had  an  opportunity 
to  make  a  Democratic  speech  for  almost  a  year,  and 
no  one — not  even  a  political  enemy — would  be  so 
cruel  as  to  forbid  me  to  speak  of  those  policies  on 
this  occasion.  Our  opponents  have  derived  not  only 
partizan  pleasure,  but  partizan  advantage  as  well, 
from  the  division  caused  in  our  party  by  the  money 
question.  They  ought  not,  therefore,  to  begrudge  us 
the  satisfaction  that  we  find  in  the  fact  that  unex 
pected  conditions  have  removed  the  cause  of  our 


AT  THE  N.  Y.  RECEPTION  75 

differences  and  permitted  us  to  present  a  united 
front  on  present  issues.  The  unlooked-for  and  un 
precedented  increase  in  the  production  of  gold  has 
brought  a  victory  to  both  the  advocates  of  gold 
and  the  advocates  of  bimetal  ism — the  former  keep 
ing  the  gold  standard  which  they  wanted  and  the 
latter  securing  the  larger  volume  of  money  for 
which  they  contended.  We  who  favor  bimetalism 
are  satisfied  with  our  victory  if  the  friends  of  mono- 
metalism  are  satisfied  with  theirs,  and  we  can  invite 
them  to  a  contest  of  zeal  and  endurance  in  the 
effort  to  restore  to  the  people  the  rights  which  have 
been  gradually  taken  from  them  by  the  trusts. 

The  investigations  which  have  been  in  progress 
during  the  past  year  have  disclosed  the  business 
methods  of  those  who  a  few  years  ago  resented  any 
inspection  of  their  schemes  and  hid  their  rascality 
under  high-sounding  phrases.  These  investigations 
have  also  disclosed  the  source  of  enormous  campaign 
funds  which  have  been  used  to  debauch  elections 
and  corrupt  the  ballot.  The  people  see  now  what 
they  should  have  seen  before,  namely,  that  no  party 
can  exterminate  the  trusts  so  long  as  it  owes  its 
political  success  to  campaign  contributions  secured 
from  the  trusts.  The  great  corporations  do  not 
contribute  their  money  to  any  party  except  for  im 
munity  expressly  promised  or  clearly  implied.  The 
president  has  recommended  legislation  on  this  sub 
ject,  but  so  far  his  party  has  failed  to  respond. 

No  important  advance  can  be  made  until  this  cor 
rupting  influence  is  eliminated,  and  I  hope  that  the 
Democratic  party  will  not  only  challenge  the  Re 
publican  party  to  bring  forward  effective  legisla- 


76  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

tion  on  this  subject,  but  will  set  an  example  by 
refusing  to  receive  campaign  contributions  from 
corporations  and  by  opening  the  books  so  that  every 
contributor  of  any  considerable  sum  may  be  known 
to  the  public  before  the  election.  The  great  ma 
jority  of  corporations  are  engaged  in  legitimate 
business  and  have  nothing  to  fear  from  hostile  legis 
lation,  and  they  should  not  be  permitted  to  use  the 
money  of  the  stockholders  to  advance  the  political 
opinions  of  the  officers  of  the  corporations.  Con 
tributions  should  be  individual,  not  corporate,  and 
no  party  can  afford  to  receive  contributions  even 
from  individuals  when  the  acceptance  of  those  con 
tributions  secretly  pledges  the  party  to  a  course 
which  it  cannot  openly  avow.  In  other  words,  poli 
tics  should  be  honest,  and  I  mistake  political  condi 
tions  in  America  if  they  do  not  presage  improve 
ment  in  the  conduct  of  campaigns. 

While  men  may  differ  as  to  the  relative  impor 
tance  of  issues,  and  while  the  next  Congress  will 
largely  shape  the  lines  upon  which  the  presidential 
campaign  of  1908  will  be  fought,  I  think  it  is  safe 
to  say  that  at  present  the  paramount  issue  in  the 
minds  of  a  large  majority  of  the  people  is  the  trust 
issue. 

f  T  congratulate  President  Roosevelt  upon  the  steps 
!  which  he  has  taken  to  enforce  the  anti-trust  law, 
and  my  gratification  is  not  lessened  by  the  fact  that 
he  has  followed  the  Democratic  rather  than  the  Re 
publican  platform  in  every  advance  he  has  made. 
It  has  been  a  great  embarrassment  to  him  that  the 
platform  upon  which  he  was  elected  was  filled  with 
praises  of  the  Republican  party 's  record  rather 


AT  THE  N.  Y.  RECEPTION  77 

than  with  promises  of  reform ;  even  the  enthusiastic 
support  given  him  by  the  Democrats  has  enabled 
the  champions  of  the  trusts  to  taunt  him  with  fol 
lowing  Democratic  leadership.  He  has  probably 
gone  as  far  as  he  could  go  without  incurring  the 
hostility  of  the  leaders  of  his  own  party.  The 
trouble  is  that  the  Republican  party  is  not  in  a  posi 
tion  to  apply  effective  and  thoroughgoing  reforms, 
because  it  has  built  up  through  special  legislation 
the  very  abuses  which  need  to  be  eradicated. 

Before  any  intelligent  action  can  be  taken  against 
the  trusts  we  must  have  a  definition  of  a  trust. 
Because  no  corporation  has  an  absolute  and  com 
plete  monopoly  of  any  important  product,  the  apol 
ogists  for  the  trusts  sometimes  insist  that  there  are 
in  reality  no  trusts.  Others  insist  that  it  is  impos 
sible  to  legislate  against  such  trusts  as  may  exist 
without  doing  injury  to  legitimate  business.  For 
the  purposes  of  this  discussion  it  is  sufficient  to 
draw  the  line  at  the  point  where  competition  ceases 
to  be  effective  and  to  designate  as  a  trust  any  cor 
poration  which  controls  so  much  of  the  product  of 
any  article  that  it  can  fix  the  terms  and  conditions 
of  sale. 

Legislation  which  prevents  monopoly  not  only 
does  not  injure  legitimate  business,  but  actually 
protects  legitimate  business  from  injury.  We  are 
indebted  to  the  younger  Rockefeller  for  an  illustra 
tion  which  makes  this  distinction  clear.  In  defend 
ing  the  trust  system  he  is  quoted  as  saying  that  as 
the  American  Beauty  rose  cannot  be  brought  to 
perfection  without  pinching  off  ninety-nine  buds, 
so  that  the  one  hundredth  bud  can  receive  the  full 


78  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

strength  of  the  bush,  so  great  industrial  organiza 
tions  are  impossible  without  the  elimination  of  the 
smaller  ones.  It  is  a  cruel  illustration,  but  it  pre 
sents  a  perfectly  accurate  picture  of  trust  methods. 
The  Democratic  party  champions  the  cause  of  the 
ninety-nine  enterprises  which  are  menaced;  they 
must  not  be  sacrificed  that  one  great  combination 
may  flourish  and  when  the  subject  is  understood 
we  shall  receive  the  cordial  support  of  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  business  men  who  have  themselves  felt 
the  oppression  of  the  trusts,  or  who,  having  ob 
served  the  effect  of  the  trusts  upon  others,  realize 
that  their  safety  lies,  not  in  futile  attempts  at  the 
restraint  of  trusts,  but  in  legislation  which  will 
make  a  private  monopoly  impossible. 

There  must  be  no  mistaking  of  the  issue  and  no 
confusing  of  the  line  of  battle.  The  trust,  as  an  in 
stitution,  will  have  few  open  defenders.  The  policy 
of  the  trust  defenders  will  be  to  insist  upon  *  *  reason 
able  regulation, ' '  and  then  they  will  rely  upon  their 
power  to  corrupt  legislatures  and  to  intimidate  ex 
ecutives  to  prevent  the  application  of  any  remedies 
which  will  interfere  with  the  trusts.  Our  motto 
must  be :  "  A  private  monopoly  is  indefensible  and 
intolerable, "  and  our  plan  of  attack  must  con 
template  the  total  and  complete  overthrow  of  the 
monopoly  principle  in  industry.  "We  need  not  quar 
rel  over  remedies.  We  must  show  ourselves  willing 
to  support  any  remedy  and  every  remedy  which 
promises  substantial  advantage  to  the  people  in 
their  warfare  against  monopoly.  Something  is  to  be 
expected  from  the  enforcement  of  the  criminal 
clause  of  the  Sherman  anti-trust  law,  but  this  law 


AT  THE  N.  Y.  RECEPTION  79 

must  be  enforced,  not  against  a  few  trusts,  as  at 
present,  but  against  all  trusts,  and  the  aim  must 
be  to  imprison  the  guilty,  not  merely  to  recover 
a  fine.  What  is  a  fine  of  a  thousand  dollars  or  even 
ten  thousand  dollars  to  a  trust  which  makes  a  hun 
dred  thousand  dollars  while  the  trial  is  in  progress? 

If  the  criminal  clause  is  not  going  to  be  enforced 
it  ought  to  be  repealed.  If  imprisonment  is  too 
severe  a  punishment  for  the  eminently  respectable 
gentlemen  who  rob  eighty  millions  of  people  of  hun 
dreds  of  millions  of  dollars  annually,  the  language 
of  the  statute  ought  to  be  changed,  for  nothing  is 
more  calculated  to  breed  anarchy  than  the  failure 
to  enforce  the  law  against  rich  criminals  while  it  is 
rigidly  enforced  against  petty  offenders. 

But  it  is  not  sufficient  to  enforce  existing  laws.  If 
ten  corporations  conspiring  together  in  restraint  of 
trade  are  threatened  with  punishment,  all  they  have 
to  do  now  is  to  dissolve  their  separate  corporations 
and  turn  their  property  over  to  a  new  corporation. 
The  new  corporation  can  proceed  to  do  the  same 
thing  that  the  separate  corporations  attempted,  and 
yet  not  violate  the  law.  We  need,  therefore,  new 
legislation,  and  the  Republican  party  not  only  fails 
to  enact  such  legislation,  but  fails  even  to  promise 
it.  The  Democratic  party  must  be  prepared  to  pro 
pose  legislation  which  will  be  sufficient. 

Recent  investigations  have  brought  to  light  the 
fact  that  nearly  all  the  crookedness  revealed  in  the 
management  of  our  large  corporations  has  been  due  f 
largely  to  the  duplication  of  directorates.    A  group  f 
of  men  organized,  or  obtained  control  of,  several 
corporations  doing  business  with  each  other  and 


80  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

then  proceeded  to  swindle  the  stockholders  of  the 
various  corporations  for  which  they  acted.  No  man 
can  serve  two  masters,  and  the  director  who  at 
tempts  to  do  so  will  fail,  no  matter  how  much  money 
he  may  make,  before  his  failure  is  discovered.  Many 
of  the  trusts  control  prices  by  the  same  methods. 
The  same  group  of  men  secure  control  of  several 
competing  corporations  and  the  management  is  thus 
consolidated.  It  is  worth  while  to  consider  whether 
a  blow  may  not  be  struck  at  the  trusts  by  a  law 
making  it  illegal  for  the  same  person  to  act  as  di 
rector  or  officer  of  two  corporations  which  deal 
with  each  other  or  are  engaged  in  the  same  general 
business. 

A  still  more  far-reaching  remedy  was  proposed 
by  the  Democratic  platform  of  1900,  namely,  the 
requiring  of  corporations  to  take  out  a  federal  li 
cense  before  engaging  in  interstate  commerce.  This 
remedy  is  simple,  easily  applied  and  comprehensive. 
The  requiring  of  a  license  would  not  embarrass 
legitimate  corporations — it  would  scarcely  incon 
venience  them — while  it  would  confine  the  preda 
tory  corporations  to  the  state  of  their  origin.  Just 
as  a  federal  license  to  sell  liquor  leaves  the  pos 
sessor  of  the  license  to  sell  only  in  accordance  with 
the  laws  of  the  State  in  which  he  resides,  so  a  cor 
porate  license  granted  by  a  federal  commission 
would  not  interfere  with  the  right  of  each  State  to 
regulate  foreign  corporations  doing  business  within 
its  borders. 

If  corporations  were  required  to  take  out  a  fed 
eral  license  the  federal  Government  could  then  is 
sue  the  license  upon  the  terms  and  conditions  which 


AT  THE  N.  Y.  RECEPTION  81 

would  protect  the  public.  A  corporation  differs 
from  a  human  being  in  that  it  has  no  natural  rights, 
and  as  all  of  its  rights  are  derived  from  the  statutes 
it  can  be  limited  or  restrained  according  as  the  pub 
lic  welfare  may  require.  The  control  which  Con 
gress  has  over  interstate  commerce  is  complete,  and 
if  Congress  can  prevent  the  transportation  of  a  lot 
tery  ticket  through  the  mails,  by  the  express  com 
panies  or  by  freight,  it  can  certainly  forbid  the  use 
of  the  mails,  the  railways  and  the  telegraph  lines  to 
any  corporation  which  is  endeavoring  to  monopolize 
an  article  of  commerce,  and  no  party  can  long  be 
credited  with  sincerity  if  it  condemns  the  trusts 
with  words  only  and  then  permits  the  trusts  to  em 
ploy  all  the  instrumentalities  of  interstate  commerce 
in  the  carrying  out  of  their  nefarious  plans.  It  is 
far  easier  to  prevent  a  monopoly  than  to  watch  it 
and  punish  it,  and  this  prevention  can  be  accom 
plished  in  a  practical  way  by  refusing  a  license  to 
any  corporation  which  controls  more  than  a  certain 
proportion  of  the  total  product — this  proportion  to 
be  arbitrarily  fixed  at  a  point  which  will  give  free 
operation  to  competition. 

The  tariff  question  is  very  closely  allied  to  the 
trust  question  and  the  reduction  of  the  tariff  fur 
nishes  an  easy  means  of  limiting  the  extortion  which 
the  trusts  can  practise.     While  absolute  free  trade    < 
would  not  necessarily  make  a  trust  impossible,  still  • 
it  is  probable  that  very  few  manufacturing  estab-  ! 
lishments  would  dare  to  enter  into  a  trust  if  the  • 
President  were  empowered  to  put  upon  the  free  list  \ 
articles  competing  with  those  controlled  by  a  trust. 
While  I  shall  take  occasion  at  an  early  day  to  con- 


82  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

sider  the  tariff  question  more  at  length,  I  cannot 
permit  this  opportunity  to  pass  without  expressing 
the  opinion  that  the  principle  embodied  in  the  pro 
tective  tariff  has  been  the  fruitful  source  of  a  great 
deal  of  political  corruption,  and  that  the  high  tariff 
schedules  have  been  a  shelter  to  many  of  our  most 
iniquitous  trusts.  It  is  difficult  to  condemn  the 
manufacturers  for  uniting  to  take  advantage  of  a 
high  tariff  schedule  when  the  schedule  is  framed  on 
the  theory  that  the  industries  need  all  the  protec 
tion  given,  and  it  is  not  likely  that  the  beneficiaries 
of  these  schedules  will  consent  to  their  reduction  so 
long  as  the  public  waits  for  the  tariff  to  be  reformed 
by  its  friends. 

But  one  of  the  worst  features  of  the  tariff,  levied 
not  for  revenue,  but  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  pro 
tection,  is  that  it  fosters  the  idea  that  men  should 
use  their  votes  to  advance  their  own  financial  inter 
ests.  The  manufacturer  has  been  assured  that  it  is 
legitimate  for  him  to  vote  for  Congressmen  who, 
whatever  their  opinions  on  other  subjects  may  be, 
will  legislate  larger  dividends  into  his  pockets; 
sheep  growers  have  been  encouraged  to  believe  that 
they  should  have  no  higher  aim  in  voting  than  to 
raise  the  price  of  wool ;  and  laboring  men  have  been 
urged  to  make  their  wages  their  only  concern. 

For  a  generation  the  ' '  fat ' '  has  been  fried  out  of 
the  manufacturers  by  the  Republican  campaign 
committee,  and  then  the  manufacturers  have  been 
reimbursed  by  legislation.  With  the  public  con 
science  educated  to  believe  that  this  open  purchase 
of  legislation  was  entirely  proper,  no  wonder  that 
insurance  companies  have  used  the  money  of  their 


AT  THE  N.  Y.  RECEPTION  83 

policy  holders  to  carry  elections — no  wonder  that 
trusts  have  hastened  to  purchase  immunity  from 
punishment  with  liberal  donations!  How  can  we 
draw  a  moral  distinction  between  the  man  who  sells 
his  vote  for  five  dollars  on  election  day  and  the 
manufacturer  who  sells  his  political  influence  for 
fifty  or  a  hundred  thousand  dollars,  payable  in 
dividends?  How  can  we  draw  a  moral  line  between 
the  Senator  or  Congressman  elected  by  the  trusts  to 
prevent  hostile  legislation  and  the  Senator  or  Con 
gressman  kept  in  Congress  by  the  manufacturers 
to  secure  friendly  legislation  ?  The  party  that  justi 
fies  the  one  form  of  bribery  cannot  be  relied  upon 
to  condemn  the  other. 

There  never  was  a  time  when  tariff  reform  could 
be  more  easily  entered  upon,  for  the  manufacturers 
by  selling  abroad  cheaper  than  at  home,  as  many 
of  them  do,  have  not  only  shown  their  ingratitude 
toward  those  who  built  the  tariff  wall  for  them, 
but  they  have  demonstrated  their  ability  to  sell  in 
competition  with  the  world.  The  high  tariff  has 
long  been  a  burden  to  the  consumers  in  the  United 
States  and  it  is  growing  more  and  more  a  menace 
to  our  foreign  commerce  because  it  arouses  resent 
ment  and  provokes  retaliation. 

The  railroad  question  is  also  interwoven  with  the 
trust  question.  Nearly  all  the  private  monopolies 
have  received  rebates  or  secured  other  advantages 
over  competitors.  Absolute  equality  of  treatment 
at  the  hands  of  the  railroads  would  go  far  toward 
crippling  the  trusts,  and  I  rejoice  that  the  Presi 
dent  has  had  the  courage  to  press  the  question  upon 
Congress.  While  the  law,  as  it  was  finally  enacted, 


84  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

is  not  all  that  could  be  wished,  it  deserves  a  fair 
trial. 

Rate  regulation  was  absolutely  necessary  and  the 
new  law  furnishes  some  relief  from  the  unbearable 
condition  which  previously  existed,  but  we  must 
not  forget  that  the  vesting  of  this  enormous  power 
in  the  hands  of  a  commission  appointed  by  the 
President  introduces  a  new  danger.  If  an  appoint 
ive  board  has  the  power  to  fix  rates  and  can,  by 
the  exercise  of  that  power,  increase  or  decrease  by 
hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  the  annual  revenues 
of  the  railroads,  will  not  the  railroads  feel  that  they 
have  a  large  pecuniary  interest  in  the  election  of  a 
President  friendly  to  the  railroads?  Experience 
has  demonstrated  that  municipal  corruption  is 
largely  traceable  to  the  fact  that  franchise-holding 
corporations  desire  to  control  the  city  council  and 
thus  increase  their  dividends.  If  the  railroad  man 
agers  adopt  the  same  policy,  the  sentiment  in  favor 
of  the  ownership  of  the  railroads  by  the  Govern 
ment  is  likely  to  increase  as  rapidly  throughout 
the  country  as  the  sentiment  in  favor  of  municipal 
ownership  has  increased  in  the  cities. 

I  have  already  reached  the  conclusion  that  rail 
roads  partake  so  much  of  the  nature  of  a  monopoly 
that  they  must  ultimately  become  public  property 
and  be  managed  by  public  officials  in  the  interest 
of  the  whole  community  in  accordance  with  the  well- 
defined  theory  that  public  ownership  is  necessary 
where  competition  is  impossible.  I  do  not  know 
that  the  country  is  ready  for  this  change;  I  do  not 
know  that  a  majority  of  my  own  party  favor  it, 
but  I  believe  that  an  increasing  number  of  the  mem- 


AT  THE  N.  Y.  RECEPTION  85 

bers  of  all  parties  see  in  public  ownership  the  only 
sure  remedy  for  discrimination  between  persons  and 
places  and  for  extortionate  rates  for  the  carrying  of 
freight  and  passengers. 

Believing,  however,  that  the  operation  of  all  the 
railroads  by  the  federal  Government  would  so  cen 
tralize  the  Government  as  to  almost  obliterate  State 
lines,  I  prefer  to  see  only  the  trunk  lines  operated 
by  the  federal  Government  and  the  local  lines  by 
the  several  State  governments.  Some  have  opposed 
this  dual  ownership  as  impracticable,  but  investiga 
tion  in  Europe  has  convinced  me  that  it  is  entirely 
practicable.  Nearly  all  the  railroads  of  Germany 
are  owned  by  the  several  States,  the  empire  not  even 
owning  trunk  lines,  and  yet  the  interstate  traffic  is 
in  no  wise  obstructed.  In  traveling  from  Constanti 
nople  to  Vienna  one  passes  through  Turkey,  Bul 
garia.  Servia,  Hungary  and  a  part  of  Austria  with 
out  a  change  of  cars,  altho  each  country  owns  and 
operates  its  own  roads  and  different  languages  are 
spoken  on  the  different  divisions  of  the  lines.  Swe-  : 
den  and  Norway  each  owns  its  railroads,  but  they 
have  no  trouble  about  interstate  traffic,  altho  their 
political  relations  are  somewhat  strained.  The  own 
ership  and  operation  of  the  local  lines  by  the  sev 
eral  State  governments  is  not  only  feasible,  but  it 
suits  itself  to  conditions  existing  in  the  various 
States.  In  those  States  where  the  people  are  ripe 
for  a  change,  the  local  lines  can  be  purchased  or 
new  lines  be  built  at  once,  while  private  ownership 
can  continue  in  those  States  in  which  the  people 
still  prefer  private  ownership.  Some  States  have 
been  more  careful  than  others  to  prevent  the  water- 


86  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

ing  of  stock  and  in  the  acquiring  of  roads  each 
State  can  act  according  to  the  situation  which  it 
has  to  meet. 

As  to  the  right  of  the  governments,  federal  and 
State,  to  own  and  operate  railroads  there  can  be  no 
doubt.  If  we  can  deepen  the  water  in  the  lakes 
and  build  connecting  canals  in  order  to  cheapen 
railroad  transportation  during  half  of  the  year,  we 
can  build  a  railroad  and  cheapen  rates  the  whole 
year;  if  we  can  spend  several  hundred  millions  on 
the  Panama  canal  to  lower  transcontinental  rates, 
we  can  build  a  railroad  from  New  York  to  San 
Francisco  to  lower  both  transcontinental  and  local 
rates.  The  United  States  mail  is  increasing  s"o  rap 
idly  that  we  shall  soon  be  able  to  pay  the  interest 
on  the  cost  of  trunk  lines  out  of  the  money  which 
we  now  pay  to  railroads  for  carrying  through  mails. 
If  any  of  you  question  the  propriety  of  my  men 
tioning  this  subject,  I  beg  to  remind  you  that  the 
President  could  not  have  secured  the  passage  of  the 
rate  bill  had  he  not  appealed  to  the  fear  of  the 
more  radical  remedy  of  Government  ownership, 
and  I  may  add,  nothing  will  so  restrain  the  rail 
road  magnates  from  attempting  to  capture  the  in 
terstate  commerce  commission  as  the  same  fear. 
The  high-handed  manner  in  which  they  have  vio 
lated  law  and  ignored  authority,  together  with  the 
corruption  discovered  in  high  places,  has  done  more 
to  create  sentiment  in  favor  of  public  ownership 
than  all  the  speeches  and  arguments  of  the  oppon 
ents  of  private  ownership. 

I  have  referred  to  the  railroad  question  as  a  part 
of  the  trust  question  because  they  are  so  interwoven 


AT  THE  N.  Y.  RECEPTION  87 

that   it  is  difficult  to   consider  one  without  the 
other. 

Just  a  word  more  in  regard  to  the  trusts.  Some 
defend  them  on  the  ground  that  they  are  an  eco 
nomic  development  and  that  they  cannot  be  pre 
vented  without  great  injury  to  our  industrial  sys 
tem.  This  may  be  answered  in  two  ways:  First, 
trusts  are  a  political  development  rather  than  an 
economic  one;  and,  second,  the  trust  system  could 
not  be  permitted  to  continue  even  though  it  did 
result  in  a  net  economic  gain.  It  is  political  be 
cause  it  rests  upon  the  corporation  and  the  corpora 
tion  rests  upon  a  statutory  foundation.  The  trust, 
instead  of  being  a  natural  development,  is  a  form 
of  legalized  larceny,  and  can  exist  only  so  long  as 
the  law  permits  it  to  exist.  That  there  is  an  eco 
nomic  advantage  in  production  on  a  large  scale 
may  be  admitted,  but  because  a  million  yards  of 
cloth  can  be  produced  in  one  factory  at  a  lower 
price  per  yard  than  one  hundred  thousand  yards 
can  be  produced  in  the  same  factory,  it  does  not  fol 
low  that  cloth  would  or  could  be  produced  at  a  still 
lower  price  per  yard  if  all  the  cloth  consumed  in 
the  United  States  were  produced  in  one  factory  or 
under  one  management.  There  is  a  point  beyond 
which  the  economic  advantage  of  a  large  produc 
tion  ceases.  The  moment  an  industry  approaches 
the  position  of  a  monopoly  it  begins  to  lose  in  eco 
nomic  efficiency,  for  a  monopoly  discourages  inven 
tion,  invites  deterioration  in  quality  and  destroys  a 
most  potent  factor  in  production,  viz.:  individual 
ambition.  But  the  political  objections  to  a  trust 
overcome  any  economic  advantage  which  it  can  pos- 


88  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

sibly  have.  No  economic  advantage  can  justify  an 
industrial  despotism  or  compensate  the  nation  for 
the  loss  of  independence  among  its  producers.  Po 
litical  liberty  could  not  long  endure  under  an  in 
dustrial  system  which  permitted  a  few  pOAverful 
magnates  to  control  the  means  of  livelihood  of  the 
rest  of  the  people. 

Landlordism,  the  curse  of  Europe,  is  an  innocent 
institution  in  comparison  with  the  trust  when  the 
trust  is  carried  to  its  logical  conclusion.  The  man 
who  argues  that  there  is  an  economic  advantage  in 
private  monopoly  is  aiding  socialism.  The  socialist, 
asserting  the  economic  superiority  of  the  monopoly, 
insists  that  its  benefits  shall  accrue  to  the  whole 
people,  and  his  conclusion  cannot  be  denied  if  his 
assertion  is  admitted.  The  Democratic  party,  if  I 
understand  its  position,  denies  the  economic  as  well 
as  the  political  advantage  of  private  monopoly  and 
promises  to  oppose  it  wherever  it  manifests  itself. 
It  offers  as  an  alternative  competition  where  com 
petition  is  possible,  and  public  monopoly  wherever 
circumstances  are  such  as  to  prevent  competition. 

Socialism  presents  a  consistent  theory,  but  a  the 
ory  which,  in  my  judgment,  does  not  take  human 
nature  into  account.  Its  strength  is  in  its  attack 
upon  evils,  the  existence  of  which  is  confest;  its 
weakness  is  that  it  would  substitute  a  new  disease — 
if  not  a  worse  one — for  the  disease  from  which  we 
suffer.  The  socialist  is  honest  in  the  belief  that  he 
has  found  a  remedy  for  human  ills,  and  he  must  be 
\  answered  with  argument,  not  with  abuse.  The  best 
way  to  oppose  socialism  is  to  remedy  the  abuses 
which  have  grown  up  under  individualism  but 


AT  THE  N.  Y.  RECEPTION  89 

which  are  not  a  necessary  part  of  individualism, 
and  the  sooner  the  remedy  is  applied  the  better. 

As  I  was  leaving  home  I  set  forth  my  reasons  for 
opposing  the  socialistic  doctrine  that  the  Govern 
ment  should  own  and  operate  all  the  means  of  pro 
duction  and  transportation;  my  observations  dur 
ing  the  past  year  have  strengthened  my  conviction 
on  that  subject.    Because  I  am  anxious  to  preserve  / 
individualism.  I  am  earnest  in  my  desire  to  see  the  f 
trusts  exterminated,  root  and  branch,  that  the  door  I 
of  opportunity  may  be   open  to  every  American,' 
citizen. 

I  shall  reserve  for  another  occasion  a  discussion 
of  the  rapidly  growing  appropriations  made  by  the 
party  in  power.  It  is  natural  that  those  who  look 
upon  taxation  as  a  blessing  should  view  govern 
mental  extravagance  with  complacency.  Yet  even 
the  desire  to  find  ways  of  spending  the  revenues 
brought  into  the  treasury  by  a  high  tariff  can 
hardly  account  for  the  reckless  expenditures  of  the 
last  session  of  Congress. 

But  at  this  time  I  desire  to  center  your  thoughts 
upon  the  overshadowing  evil  of  the  day — the  trust, 
with  the  plutocratic  tendencies  that  result  there 
from.  It  demands  a  remedy  and  the  people  are 
prepared  to  administer  strenuous  treatment.  The 
Democratic  party  offers  a  solution  which  is  both 
reasonable  and  adequate — a  solution  in  which  time- 
honored  principles  are  applied  to  new  conditions. 

The  Democratic  party  is  not  the  enemy  of  prop 
erty  or  of  property  rights;  it  is,  on  the  contrary, 
the  best  defender  of  both,  because  it  defends  human 
rights  and  human  rights  are  the  only  foundation 

II  7 


90  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

upon  which  property  and  property  rights  can  rest 
securely.  The  Democratic  party  does  not  menace 
a  single  dollar  legitimately  accumulated;  on  the 
contrary,  it  insists  upon  the  protection  of  rich  and 
poor  alike  in  the  enjoyment  of  that  which  they  have 
honestly  earned.  The  Democratic  party  does  not 
discourage  thrift,  but,  on  the  contrary,  stimulates 
each  individual  to  the  highest  endeavor  by  assuring 
him  that  he  will  not  be  deprived  of  the  fruits  of 
his  toil.  If  we  can  but  repeal  the  laws  which  en 
able  men  to  reap  where  they  have  not  sown — laws 
which  enable  them  to  garner  into  their  overflowing 
barns  the  harvests  that  belong  to  others — no  one 
will  be  able  to  accumulate  enough  to  make  his  for 
tune  dangerous  to  the  country.  Special  privilege 
and  the  use  of  the  taxing  power  for  private  gain — 
these  are  the  twin  pillars  upon  which  plutocracy 
rests.  To  take  away  these  supports  and  to  elevate 
the  beneficiaries  of  special  legislation  to  the  plane 
of  honest  effort  ought  to  be  the  purpose  of  our 
party. 

And  who  can  suffer  injury  by  just  taxation,  im 
partial  laws  and  the  application  of  the  Jeffersonian 
doctrine  of  equal  rights  to  all  and  special  privileges 
to  none?  Only  those  whose  accumulations  are 
stained  with  dishonesty  and  whose  immoral  meth 
ods  have  given  them  a  distorted  view  of  business, 
society  and  government.  Accumulating  by  con 
scious  frauds  more  money  than  they  can  use  upon 
themselves,  wisely  distribute  or  safely  leave  to  their 
children,  these  denounce  as  public  enemies  all  who 
question  their  methods  or  throw  a  light  upon  their 
crimes. 


AT  THE  N.  Y.  RECEPTION  91 

Plutocracy  is  abhorrent  to  a  republic ;  it  is  more 
despotic  than  monarchy,  more  heartless  than  aris 
tocracy,  more  selfish  than  bureaucracy.  It  preys 
upon  the  nation  in  time  of  peace  and  conspires 
against  it  in  the  hour  of  its  calamity.  Conscience 
less,  compassionless  and  devoid  of  wisdom,  it  ener 
vates  its  votaries  while  it  impoverishes  its  victims. 
It  is  already  sapping  the  strength  of  the  nation, 
vulgarizing  social  life  and  making  a  mockery  of 
morals.  The  time  is  ripe  for  the  overthrow  of  this 
giant  wrong.  In  the  name  of  the  counting-rooms 
which  it  has  defiled;  in  the  name  of  business 
honor  which  it  has  polluted;  in  the  name  of  the 
home  which  it  has  despoiled ;  in  the  name  of  re 
ligion  which  it  has  disgraced;  in  the  name  of  the 
people  whom  it  has  opprest,  let  us  make  our  appeal 
to  the  awakened  conscience  of  the  nation. 

And  if  I  may  be  permitted  to  suggest  a  battle 
hymn,  I  propose  a  stanza  slightlv  changed  from  one 
of  the  most  touching  of  the  poems  of  Burns,  Scot 
land's  democratic  bard: 

"Columbia  !  My  dear,  my  native  soil, 

For  whom  my  warmest  wish  to  heaven  is  sent, 

Long  may  thy  hardy  sons  of  rustic  toil 

Be  blest  with  health,  and  peace,  and  sweet  content. 

And,  O,  may  Heaven  their  simple  lives  prevent 

From  luxury's  contagion,  weak  and  vile; 

Then,  tho  unearned  wealth  to  wickedness  be  lent, 

A  virtuous  populace  will  rise  and  stand 

A  wall  of  fire  around  their  much  Joved  land." 


VII 
GOVERNMENT  OWNERSHIP 

Delivered  in  Louisville,  Ky.,  in  September,  1906,  in  reply 
to  misrepresentations  of  that  part  of  his  New  York  speech 
which  dealt  with  the  railroad  question. 

BEFORE  addressing  myself  to  other  subjects, 
which   I   wish  to   discuss,   I   beg  your   in 
dulgence  while  I  submit  a  few  remarks  in 
regard  to  one  question  concerning  which  my  atti 
tude  has,  to  some  extent,  been  misrepresented. 

In  my  speech  at  the  New  York  reception  I  made 
a  brief  reference  to  the  Government  ownership  of 
railways,  and  I  thought  that  I  had  exprest  myself 
so  clearly  that  my  position  could  not  be  miscon 
strued  even  by  those  who  desired  to  misconstrue  it. 
The  New  York  speech  was  prepared  in  advance.  It 
was  not  only  written,  but  it  was  carefully  revised. 
It  stated  exactly  what  I  wanted  to  state  and  I  have 
nothing  to  withdraw  or  modify  in  the  statement 
therein  made.  What  I  say  to-night  is  rather  in  the 
nature  of  an  elaboration  of  the  ideas  therein  pre 
sented. 

After  quoting  from  the  Democratic  platform  of 
1900,  that  "a  private  monopoly  is  indefensible  and 
intolerable,"  and  after  laying  it  down  as  a  prin 
ciple  that  public  ownership  should  begin  where 
competition  ends  and  that  the  people  should  have 
the  benefit  of  any  monopoly  that  might  be  found 

(92) 


GOVERNMENT  OWNERSHIP  93 

necessary,  I  stated  that  I  had  reached  the  conclu 
sion  ''that  railroads  partake  so  much  of  the  nature 
of  monopoly  that  they  must  ultimately  become  pub 
lic  property  and  be  managed  by  public  officials  in 
the  interests  of  the  whole  community. "  I  added: 
''I  do  not  know  that  the  country  is  ready  for  this 
legislation.  I  do  not  know  that  the  majority  of 
my  own  party  favors  it,  but  I  believe  that  an  in 
creasing  number  of  the  members  of  all  parties  see 
in  public  ownership  a  sure  remedy  for  discrimina 
tion  between  persons  and  places  and  for  the  extor 
tionate  rates  for  the  carrying  of  freight  and  pas 
sengers.  ' ' 

I  then  proceeded  to  outline  a  system  of  public 
ownership  whereby  the  advantages  of  public  own 
ership  might  be  secured  to  the  people  without  the 
dangers  of  centralization.  This  system  contemplates 
federal  ownership  of  the  trunk  lines  only  and  the 
ownership  of  local  lines  by  the  several  States.  I 
further  exprest  it  as  my  opinion  that  the  railroads 
themselves  were  responsible  for  the  growth  of  the 
sentiment  in  favor  of  public  ownership,  and  said 
'that,  while  I  believed  that  the  rate  bill  recently 
enacted  should  be  given  a  fair  trial,  we  might  ex 
pect  to  see  the  railroads  still  more  active  in  politics 
unless  our  experience  with  them  differed  from  the 
experience  we  had  had  with  franchise-holding  cor 
porations. 

This  statement  of  my  views  has  been  assailed  by 
some  as  an  attempt  to  force  these  views  upon  the 
Democratic  party,  and  by  some  as  an  announcement 
of  an  intention  to  insist  upon  the  incorporation 
of  these  views  in  the  next  Democratic  national  plat- 


94  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

form.  Let  me  answer  these  two  charges.  I  have 
tried  to  make  it  clear  that  I  exprest  my  own  opinion 
and  I  have  never  sought  to  compel  the  acceptance 
of  my  opinion  by  any  one  else.  Reserving  the  right 
to  do  my  own  thinking,  I  respect  the  right  of  every 
one  else  to  do  his  thinking.  I  have  too  much  respect 
for  the  rights  of  others  to  ask  them  to  accept  any 
views  that  I  may  entertain  unless  those  views  com 
mend  themselves  to  them,  and  I  have  too  much  con 
fidence  in  the  independent  thought  in  my  own  party 
to  expect  that  any  considerable  number  of  Demo 
crats  would  acknowledge  my  right  to  do  their 
thinking  for  them,  even  if  I  were  undemocratic 
enough  to  assert  such  a  right. 

As  to  platforms,  I  have  contended  always  that 
they  should  be  made  by  the  voters.  I  have,  in  my 
speeches  and  through  my  paper,  insisted  that  the 
platform  should  be  the  expression  of  the  wishes  of 
the  voters  of  the  party  and  not  be  the  arbitrary 
production  of  one  man  or  a  few  leaders. 

If  you  ask  me  whether  the  question  of  Govern 
ment  ownership  will  be  an  issue  in  the  campaign  of 
1908,  I  answer,  I  do  not  know.  If  you  ask  me 
whether  it  ought  to  be  in  the  platform,  I  reply,  I 
cannot  tell  until  I  know  what  the  Democratic  voters 
think  upon  the  subject.  If  the  Democrats  believe 
that  the  next  platform  should  contain  a  plank  in 
favor  of  Government  ownership,  then  that  plank 
ought  to  be  included.  If  the  Democrats  think  it 
ought  not  to  contain  such  a  plank,  then  such  a 
plank  ought  not  to  be  included.  It  rests  with  the 
party  to  make  the  platform,  and  individuals  can 
only  advise.  I  have  spoken  for  myself  and  for  my- 


GOVERNMENT  OWNERSHIP  95 

self  only,  and  I  did  not  know  how  the  suggestion 
would  be  received.  I  am  now  prepared  to  confess 
to  you  that  it  has  been  received  more  favorably  than 
I  expected.  It  has  not  been  treated  as  harshly  as 
I  thought  possibly  it  would  be  treated.  That  it 
would  be  gravely  discust  by  others  I  hoped.  There 
is  this,  however,  that  I  do  expect,  namely,  that  those 
Democrats  who  opposed  Government  ownership 
will  accompany  their  declaration  against  it  with 
the  assertion  that  they  will  favor  Government  own 
ership  whenever  they  are  convinced  that  the  coun 
try  must  choose  between  Government  ownership  of 
the  roads  and  railroad  ownership  of  the  Govern 
ment.  I  cannot  conceive  how  a  Democrat  can  de 
clare,  no  matter  to  what  extent  the  railroads  carry 
their  interference  with  politics  and  their  corrup 
tion  of  officials,  he  is  still  opposed  to  Government 
ownership.  I  think  I  may  also  reasonably  expect 
that  Democrats  who  oppose  Government  ownership 
will  say  that  if  Government  ownership  must  come, 
they  prefer  a  system  whereby  the  State  may  be 
preserved  and  the  centralizing  influence  be  reduced 
to  a  minimum.  Such  a  plan  I  have  proposed,  and 
I  have  proposed  it  because  I  want  the  people  to 
consider  it  and  not  be  driven  to  the  federal  owner 
ship  of  all  railroads  as  the  only  alternative  to  pri 
vate  ownership.  The  dual  plan,  that  is,  federal 
ownership  of  trunk  lines  and  State  ownership  of 
local  lines,  not  only  preserves  the  State,  and  even 
strengthens  its  position,  but  it  permits  the  gradual 
adoption  of  Government  ownership  as  the  people  of 
different  sections  are  ready  to  adopt  it. 

I  have  been  slow  in  reaching  this  position  and  I 


96  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

can  therefore  be  patient  with  those  who  now  stand 
where  I  stood  for  years,  urging  strict  regulation 
;and  hoping  that  that  would  be  found  feasible.  I 
still  advocate  strict  regulation  and  shall  rejoice  if 
experience  proves  that  that  regulation  can  be  made 
effective.  I  will  go  farther  than  that  and  say  that 
I  believe  we  can  have  more  efficient  regulation  un 
der  a  Democratic  administration  with  a  Democratic 
Senate  and  House  than  we  are  likely  to  have  under 
a  Republican  administration  with  a  Republican 
Senate  and  House,  and  yet  I  would  not  be  honest 
with  you  if  I  did  not  frankly  admit  that  observa 
tion  has  convinced  me  that  no  such  efficient  regula 
tion  is  possible,  and  that  Government  ownership 
can  be  undertaken  on  the  plan  outlined  with  less 
danger  to  the  country  than  is  involved  in  private 
ownership  as  we  have  had  it  or  as  we  are  likely 
to  have  it.  I  have  been  brought  to  regard  public 
ownership  as  the  ultimate  remedy  by  railroad  his 
tory  which  is  as  familiar  to  you  as  to  me.  Among 
the  reasons  that  have  led  me  to  believe  that  we 
must,  in  the  end,  look  to  Government  ownership  for 
relief,  I  shall  mention  two  or  three.  First  and  fore- 
.'most  is  the  corrupting  influence  of  the  railroad  in 
politics.  There  is  not  a  State  in  the  union  that 
has  not  felt  this  influence  to  a  greater  or  less  extent. 
The  railroads  have  insisted  upon  controlling  legis 
latures  ;  they  have  insisted  upon  naming  executives ; 
they  have  insisted  upon  controlling  the  nomination 
and  appointment  of  judges;  they  have  endeavored 
to  put  their  representatives  on  tax  boards  that  they 
might  escape  just  taxation ;  they  have  watered  their 
stock,  raised  their  rates  and  enjoined  the  States 


GOVERNMENT  OWNERSHIP  97 

whenever  they  have  attempted  to  regulate  rates; 
they  have  obstructed  legislation  when  hostile  to 
them,  and  advanced,  by  secret  means,  legislation 
favorable  to  them.  Let  me  give  you  an  illustration : 

The  interstate  commerce  law  was  enacted  nine 
teen  years  ago.  After  about  nine  years  this  law 
was  practically  nullified  by  the  supreme  court,  and 
for  ten  years  the  railroad  influence  has  been  suffi 
cient  in  the  Senate  and  House  to  prevent  an  amend 
ment  asked  for  time  and  again  by  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission.  That  railroad  influence  has 
been  strong  enough  to  keep  the  Republican  party 
from  adopting  any  platform  declaration  in  favor  of 
rate  regulation.  When  the  President,  following 
three  Democratic  platforms,  insisted  upon  regula 
tion,  he  was  met  with  the  opposition  of  the  rail 
roads,  and  every  step,  every  point  gained  in  favor 
of  the  people,  was  gained  after  a  strenuous  fight. 
The  bill  was  improved  by  an  amendment  proposed 
by  Senator  Stone,  of  Missouri,  restoring  the  crimi 
nal  penalty  which  had  been  taken  out  of  the  inter 
state  commerce  law  by  the  Elkins  law.  This  same 
amendment  had  been  presented,  in  substance,  in 
the  House,  by  Congressman  James,  of  Kentucky, 
and  had  been  defeated  by  Republican  votes.  The 
bill  was  further  improved  by  an  amendment  pro 
posed  by  Senator  Culberson,  of  Texas,  forbidding 
the  use  of  passes,  and  it  would  have  been  still  fur 
ther  improved  by  the  amendment  proposed  by  Sen 
ator  Bailey,  of  Texas,  limiting  the  court  review, 
but  the  railroad  influence  was  strong  enough  to  de 
feat  this  amendment. 

I  have  no  idea  that  the  railroads  are  going  to 


98  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

permit  regulation  without  a  struggle  and  I  fear 
that  their  influence  will  be  strong  enough  very 
much  to  delay,  if  it  does  not  entirely  defeat,  reme 
dial  legislation.  You,  in  this  State,  know  some 
thing  of  the  railroad  in  politics.  When  I  visited 
the  State  and  spoke  for  Mr.  Goebel,  I  heard  him 
charge  upon  every  platform  that  the  railroads  were 
spending  large  sums  in  opposition  to  his  election, 
and  I  have  always  believed  that  the  railroad  influ 
ence  was  largely  responsible  for  the  assassination 
of  that  brave  defender  of  the  rights  of  the  people. 

Another  reason  which  has  led  me  to  favor  Gov 
ernment  ownership,  is  the  fact  that  the  people  are 
annually  plundered  of  an  enormous  sum  by  extor 
tionate  rates;  that  places  are  discriminated  against 
and  individuals  driven  out  of  business  by  favoritism 
shown  by  the  railroads.  You  say  that  all  these 
things  can  be  corrected  without  interference  with 
private  ownership.  I  shall  be  glad  if  experience 
proves  that  they  can  be,  but  I  no  longer  hope  for  it. 
President  Roosevelt,  altho  expressing  himself 
against  Government  ownership,  has  announced  that 
only  successful  regulation  can  prevent  Government 
ownership.  Is  there  any  Democrat  who  is  not  will 
ing  to  go  as  far  as  President  Roosevelt  and  admit 
the  necessity  of  Government  ownership  in  case  the 
people  are  convinced  of  the  failure  of  regulation? 
I  cannot  believe  it. 

Then,  while  we  attempt  to  make  regulation  ef 
fective,  while  we  endeavor  to  make  the  experiment 
under  the  most  favorable  conditions,  namely,  with 
the  Democratic  party  in  power,  let  us  not  hesitate 
to  inform  the  railroads  that  they  must  keep  out  of 


GOVERNMENT  OWNERSHIP  99 

politics;  that  they  must  keep  their  hands  off  of 
legislation ;  that  they  must  abstain  from  interfering 
with  the  party  machinery  and  warn  them  that  they 
can  only  maintain  their  private  control  of  the  rail 
roads  by  accepting  such  regulation  as  the  people 
may  see  fit  to  apply  in  their  own  interest  and  for 
their  own  protection.  Without  this  threat  our 
cause  would  be  hopeless.  It  remains  to  be  seen 
whether,  with  this  threat,  we  shall  be  able  to  secure 
justice  to  the  shippers,  to  the  traveling  public  and 
to  the  taxpayers. 


VIII 
SHALL  THE  PEOPLE  RULE? 

Delivered  in  Lincoln,  Nebr.,  on  Aug.  12,  1908,  in  accept 
ing  the  Democratic  nomination  for  the  Presidency. 

1  CANNOT  accept  the  nomination  which  you 
officially  tender,  without  first  acknowledging 
my  deep  indebtedness  to  the  Democratic  party 
for  the  extraordinary  honor  which  it  has  conferred 
upon  me.  Having  twice  before  been  a  candidate 
for  the  presidency,  in  campaigns  which  ended  in 
defeat,  a  third  nomination,  the  result  of  the  free 
and  voluntary  act  of  the  voters  of  the  party,  can 
only  be  explained  by  a  substantial  and  undisputed 
growth  in  the  principles  and  policies  for  which  I, 
with  a  multitude  of  others,  have  contended.  As 
these  principles  and  policies  have  given  me  what 
ever  political  strength  I  possess,  the  action  of  the 
convention  not  only  renews  my  faith  in  them  but 
strengthens  my  attachment  to  them. 

It  is  sufficient,  at  this  time,  to  assure  you  that  I 
am  in  hearty  accord  with  both  the  letter  and  the 
spirit  of  the  platform.  I  endorse  it  in  whole  and  in 
part,  and  shall,  if  elected,  regard  its  declarations 
as  binding  upon  me.  And,  I  may  add,  a  platform 
is  binding  as  to  what  it  omits  as  well  as  to  what 
it  contains.  According  to  the  democratic  idea,  the 
people  think  for  themselves  and  select  officials  to 
carry  out  their  wishes.  The  voters  are  the  sov- 

(10U) 


SHALL  THE  PEOPLE  P.TJLE  101 

creigns;  the  officials  are  the  servants,  employed  for 
a  fixt  time  and  at  a  stated  salary  to  do  what  the 
sovereigns  want  done,  and  to  do  it  in  the  way  the 
sovereigns  want  it  done.  Platforms  are  entirely 
in  harmony  with  this  democratic  idea.  A  platform 
announces  the  party's  position  on  the  questions 
which  are  at  issue;  and  an  official  is  not  at  liberty 
to  use  the  authority  vested  in  him  to  urge  personal 
views  which  have  not  been  submitted  to  the  voters 
for  their  approval.  If  one  is  nominated  upon  a 
platform  which  is  not  satisfactory  to  him,  he  must, 
if  candid,  either  decline  the  nomination,  or,  in  ac 
cepting  it,  propose  an  amended  platform  in  lieu 
of  the  one  adopted  by  the  convention.  No  such  sit 
uation,  however,  confronts  your  candidate,  for  the 
platform  upon  which  I  was  nominated  not  only 
contains  nothing  from  which  I  dissent,  but  it  spe 
cifically  outlines  all  the  remedial  legislation 
which  we  can  hope  to  secure  during  the  next  four 
years. 

The  distinguished  statesman  who  received  the 
Republican  nomination  for  President  said,  in  his 
notification  speech: 

''The  strength  of  the  Republican  cause  in  the  campaign  at 
hand  is  the  fact  that  we  represent  the  policies  essential  to 
the  reform  of  known  abuses,  to  the  continuance  of  liberty 
and  true  prosperity,  and  that  we  are  determined,  as  our 
platform  unequivocally  declares,  to  maintain  them  and  carry 
them  on." 

In  the  name  of  the  Democratic  party,  I  accept 
the  challenge,  and  charge  that  the  Republican  party 
is  responsible  for  all  the  abuses  which  now  exist 
in  the  federal  Government,  and  that  it  is  impotent 
to  accomplish  the  reforms  which  are  imperatively 


102  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

needed.  Further,  I  cannot  concur  in  the  statement 
that  the  Republican  platform  unequivocally  de 
clares  for  the  reforms  that  are  necessary;  on  the 
contrary,  I  affirm  that  it  openly  and  notoriously 
disappoints  the  hopes  and  expectations  of  reform 
ers,  whether  those  reformers  be  Republicans  or 
Democrats.  So  far  did  the  Republican  convention 
fall  short  of  its  duty  that  the  Republican  candidate 
felt  it  necessary  to  add  to  his  platform  in  several 
important  particulars,  thus  rebuking  the  leaders 
of  the  party  upon  whose  cooperation  he  must  rely 
for  the  enactment  of  remedial  legislation. 

As  I  shall,  in  separate  speeches,  discuss  the  lead 
ing  questions  at  issue,  I  shall  at  this  time  confine 
myself  to  the  paramount  question,  and  to  the  far- 
reaching  purpose  of  our  party,  as  that  purpose  is 
set  forth  in  the  platform. 

Our  platform  declares  that  the  overshadowing 
issue  which  manifests  itself  in  all  the  questions  now 
under  discussion,  is  "Shall  the  people  rule?"  No 
matter  which  way  we  turn ;  no  matter  to  what  sub 
ject  we  address  ourselves,  the  same  question  con 
fronts  us :  Shall  the  people  control  their  own  Gov 
ernment  and  use  that  Government  for  the  protec 
tion  of  their  rights  and  for  the  promotion  of  their 
welfare?  or  shall  the  representatives  of  predatory 
wealth  prey  upon  a  defenseless  public,  while  the 
offenders  secure  immunity  from  subservient  officials 
whom  they  raise  to  power  by  unscrupulous  meth 
ods?  This  is  the  issue  raised  by  the  "  known 
abuses"  to  which  Mr.  Taft  refers. 

In  a  message  sent  to  Congress  last  January,  Pres 
ident  Roosevelt  said : 


SHALL  THE  PEOPLE  RULE          103 

"The  attacks  by  these  great  corporations  on  the  admin 
istration's  actions  have  been  given  a  wide  circulation 
throughout  the  country,  in  the  newspapers  and  otherwise, 
by  those  writers  and  speakers  who,  consciously  or  uncon 
sciously,  act  as  the  representatives  of  predatory  wealth — 
of  the  wealth  accumulated  on  a  giant  scale  by  all  forms  of 
iniquity,  ranging  from  the  oppression  of  wage-earners  to 
unfair  and  unwholesome  methods  of  crushing  out  competi 
tion,  and  to  defrauding  the  public  by  stock-jobbing  and  the 
manipulation  of  securities.  Certain  wealthy  men  of  this 
stamp,  whose  conduct  should  be  abhorrent  to  every  man 
of  ordinarily  decent  conscience,  and  who  commit  the  hideous 
wrong  of  teaching  our  young  men  that  phenomenal  business 
success  must  ordinarily  be  based  on  dishonesty,  have,  dur 
ing  the  last  few  months,  made  it  apparent  that  they  banded 
together  to  work  for  a  reaction.  Their  endeavor  is  to  over 
throw  and  discredit  all  who  honestly  administer  the  law. 
to  prevent  any  additional  legislation  which  would  check  and 
restrain  them,  and  to  secure,  if  possible,  a  freedom  from 
all  restraint  which  will  permit  every  unscrupulous  wrong 
doer  to  do  what  he  wishes  unchecked,  provided  he  has 
enough  money." 

"What  an  arraignment  of  the  predatory  interests ! 

Is  the  President's  indictment  true  ?  And.  if  true, 
against  whom  was  the  indictment  directed?  Not 
against  the  Democratic  party. 

Mr.  Taft  says  that  these  evils  have  crept  in  dur 
ing  the  last  ten  years.  He  declares  that,  during 
this  time,  some 

"prominent  and  influential  members  of  the  community, 
spurred  by  financial  success  and  in  their  hurry  for  greater 
wealth,  became  unmindful  of  the  common  rules  of  business 
honesty  and  fidelity,  and  of  the  limitations  imposed  by  law 
upon  their  actions" ; 

and  that 

"the  revelations  of  the  breaches  of  trusts,  the  disclosures 
as  to  rebates  and  discriminations  by  railroads,  the  accumu 
lating  evidence  of  the  violations  of  the  anti-trust  laws,  by 
a  number  of  corporations,  and  the  overissue  of  stocks  and 
bonds  of  interstate  railroads  for  the  unlawful  enriching  of 


104  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

directors  and  for  the  purpose  of  concentrating  the  control 
of  the  railroads  under  one  management" — 

— all  these,  he  charges,  "quickened  the  conscience 
of  the  people  and  brought  on  a  moral  awaken 
ing." 

During  all  this  time,  I  beg  to  remind  you,  Re 
publican  officials  presided  in  the  executive  depart 
ment,  filled  the  cabinet,  dominated  the  Senate,  con 
trolled  the  House  of  Representatives  and  occupied 
most  of  the  federal  judgeships.  Four  years  ago  the 
Republican  platform  boastfully  declared  that  since 
1860 — with  the  exception  of  two  years — the  Repub 
lican  party  had  been  in  control  of  part  or  of  all  the 
branches  of  the  federal  Government;  that  for  two 
years  only  was  the  Democratic  party  in  a  position 
to  either  enact  or  repeal  a  law.  Having  drawn  the 
salaries ;  having  enjoyed  the  honors ;  having  secured 
the  prestige,  let  the  Republican  party  accept  the  re 
sponsibility  ! 

Why  were  these  l '  known  abuses ' '  permitted  to  de 
velop  ?  Why  have  they  not  been  corrected  ?  If  ex 
isting  laws  are  sufficient,  why  have  they  not  been 
enforced?  All  of  the  executive  machinery  of  the 
federal  Government  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Repub 
lican  party.  Are  new  laws  necessary?  Why  have 
they  not  been  enacted?  With  a  Republican  Presi 
dent  to  recommend,  with  a  Republican  Senate  and 
House  to  carry  out  his  recommendations,  why  does 
the  Republican  candidate  plead  for  further  time 
in  which  to  do  what  should  have  been  done  long 
ago?  Can  Mr.  Taft  promise  to  be  more  strenuous 
in  the  prosecution  of  wrongdoers  than  the  present 
executive  ?  Can  he  ask  for  a  larger  majority  in  the 


SHALL  THE  PEOPLE  RULE  105 

Senate  than  his  party  now  has  ?  Does*  he  need  more 
Republicans  in  the  House  of  Representatives  or  a 
speaker  with  more  unlimited  authority  ? 

The  President's  close  friends  have  been  promising 
for  several  years  that  he  would  attack  the  iniquities 
of  the  tariff.  We  have  had  intimation  that  Mr.  Taf  t 
was  restive  under  the  demands  of  the  highly  pro 
tected  industries.  And  yet  the  influence  of  the 
manufacturers,  who  have  for  twenty-five  years  con 
tributed  to  the  Republican  campaign  fund,  and  who 
in  return  have  framed  the  tariff  schedules,  has  been 
sufficient  to  prevent  tariff  reform.  As  the  present 
campaign  approached,  both  the  President  and  Mr. 
Taft  declared  in  favor  of  tariff  revision,  but  set  the 
date  of  revision  after  the  election.  The  pressure 
brought  to  bear  by  the  protected  interests  has  been 
great  enough  to  prevent  any  attempt  at  tariff  re 
form  before  the  election;  and  the  reduction  prom 
ised  after  the  election  is  so  hedged  about  with  quali 
fying  phrases,  that  no  one  can  estimate  with  ac 
curacy  the  sum  total  of  tariff  reform  to  be  expected 
in  case  of  Republican  success.  If  the  past  can  be 
taken  as  a  guide,  the  Republican  party  will  be  so 
obligated  by  campaign  contributions  from  the 
beneficiaries  of  protection,  as  to  make  that  party 
powerless  to  bring  to  the  country  any  material  re 
lief  from  the  present  tariff  burdens. 

A  few  years  ago  the  Republican  leaders  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  were  coerced  by  public 
opinion  into  the  support  of  an  anti-trust  law  which 
had  the  endorsement  of  the  President,  but  the  Sen 
ate  refused  even  to  consider  the  measure,  and  since 
that  time  no  effort  has  been  made  by  the  dominant 

118 


106  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

party  to  secure  remedial  legislation  upon  this  sub 
ject. 

For  ten  years  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commis 
sion  has  been  asking  for  an  enlargement  of  its 
powers,  that  it  might  prevent  rebates  and  discrimi 
nations,  but  a  Republican  Senate  and  a  Republican 
House  of  Representatives  were  unmoved  by  its  en 
treaties.  In  1900  the  Republican  national  conven 
tion  was  urged  to  endorse  the  demand  for  railway 
legislation,  but  its  platform  was  silent  on  the  sub 
ject.  Even  in  1904,  the  convention  gave  no  pledge 
to  remedy  these  abuses.  When  the  President  finally 
asked  for  legislation,  he  drew  his  inspiration  from 
three  Democratic  national  platforms  and  he  re 
ceived  more  cordial  support  from  the  Democrats 
than  from  the  Republicans.  The  Republicans  in  the 
Senate  deliberately  defeated  several  amendments 
offered  by  Senator  LaFollette  and  supported  by 
the  Democrats — amendments  embodying  legislation 
asked  by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission. 
One  of  these  amendments  authorized  the  ascertain 
ment  of  the  value  of  railroads.  This  amendment 
was  not  only  defeated  by  the  Senate,  but  it  was 
overwhelmingly  rejected  by  the  recent  Republican 
national  convention,  and  the  Republican  candidate 
has  sought  to  rescue  his  party  from  the  disastrous 
results  of  this  act  by  expressing  himself,  in  a  quali 
fied  way,  in  favor  of  ascertaining  the  value  of  the 
railroads. 

Mr.  Taft  complains  of  the  overissue  of  stocks  and 
bonds  of  railroads,  "for  the  unlawful  enriching  of 
directors  and  for  the  purpose  of  concentrating  the 
control  of  the  railroads  under  one  management," 


SHALL  THE  PEOPLE  RULE  107 

and  the  complaint  is  well  founded.  But,  with  a 
President  to  point  out  the  evil,  and  a  Republican 
Congress  to  correct  it,  we  find  nothing  done  for  the 
protection  of  the  public.  Why  ?  My  honorable  op 
ponent  has,  by  his  confession,  relieved  me  of  the 
necessity  of  furnishing  proof ;  he  admits  the  condi 
tion  and  he  cannot  avoid  the  logical  conclusion  that 
must  be  drawn  from  the  aJmiasion.  There  is  no 
doubt  whatever  that  a  large  majority  of  the  voters 
of  the  Republican  party  recognize  the  deplorable 
situation  which  Mr.  Taft  describes;  they  recognize 
that  the  masses  have  had  but  little  influence  upon 
legislation  or  upon  the  administration  of  the  Gov 
ernment,  and  they  are  beginning  to  understand  the 
cause.  For  a  generation,  the  Republican  party  has 
drawn  its  campaign  funds  from  the  beneficiaries 
of  special  legislation.  Privileges  have  been  pledged 
and  granted  in  return  for  money  contributed  to 
debauch  elections.  What  can  be  expected  when 
official  authority  is  turned  over  to  the  representa 
tives  of  those  who  first  furnish  the  sinews  of  war 
and  then  reimburse  themselves  out  of  the  pockets 
of  the  taxpayers? 

So  long  as  the  Republican  party  remains  in 
power,  it  is  powerless  to  regenerate  itself.  'It  cannot 
attack  wrongdoing  in  high  places  without  disgracing 
many  of  its  prominent  members,  and  it,  therefore, 
uses  opiates  instead  of  the  surgeon's  knife.  Its  male 
factors  construe  each  Republican  victory  as  an  en 
dorsement  of  their  conduct  and  threaten  the  party 
with  defeat  if  they  are  interfered  with.  Not  until 
that  party  passes  through  a  period  of  fasting  in 
the  wilderness  will  the  Republican  leaders  learn 


108  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

to  study  public  questions  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
masses.  Just  as  with  individuals,  "the  cares  of 
this  world  and  the  deceitfulness  of  riches  choke  the 
truth, "  so  in  politics,  when  party  leaders  serve  far 
away  from  home  and  are  not  in  constant  contact 
with  the  voters,  continued  party  success  blinds  their 
eyes  to  the  needs  of  the  people  and  makes  them 
deaf  to  the  cry  of  distress. 

An  effort  has  been  made  to  secure  legislation  re 
quiring  publicity  as  to  campaign  contributions  and 
expenditures;  but  the  Republican  leaders,  even  in 
the  face  of  an  indignant  public,  refused  to  consent 
to  a  law  which  would  compel  honesty  in  elections. 
"When  the  matter  was  brought  up  in  the  recent  Re 
publican  national  convention,  the  plank  was  repudi 
ated  by  a  vote  of  880  to  94.  Here,  too,  Mr.  Taft  has 
been  driven  to  apologize  for  his  convention  and  to 
declare  himself  in  favor  of  a  publicity  law ;  and  yet, 
if  you  will  read  what  he  says  upon  this  subject,  you 
will  find  that  his  promise  falls  far  short  of  the  re 
quirements  of  the  situation.  He  says : 

"If  I  am  elected  President,  I  shall  urge  upon  Congress, 
with  every  hope  of  success,  that  a  law  be  passed  requiring 
the  filing,  in  a  federal  office,  of  a  statement  of  the  con 
tributions  received  by  committees  and  candidates  in  elec 
tions  for  members  of  Congress,  and  in  such  other  elections 
as  are  constitutionally  within  the  control  of  Congress." 

I  shall  not  embarrass  him  by  asking  him  upon 
what  he  bases  his  hope  of  success ;  it  is  certainly  not 
on  any  encouragement  he  has  received  from  Repub 
lican  leaders.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  if  his  hopes 
were  realized — if,  in  spite  of  the  adverse  action  of 
his  convention,  he  should  succeed  in  securing  the 
enactment  of  the  very  law  which  he  favors,  it  would 


SHALL  THE  PEOPLE  RULE          109 

give  but  partial  relief.  He  has  read  the  Democratic 
platform;  not  only  his  language,  but  his  evident 
alarm,  indicates  that  he  has  read  it  carefully.  He 
even  had  before  him  the  action  of  the  Democratic 
national  committee  in  interpreting  and  applying 
that  platform ;  and  yet  he  fails  to  say  that  he  favors 
the  publication  of  the  contributions  before  the  elec 
tion.  Of  course,  it  satisfies  a  natural  curiosity  to 
find  out  how  an  election  has  been  purchased,  even 
when  the  knowledge  comes  too  late  to  be  of  service, 
but  why  should  the  people  be  kept  in  darkness  until 
the  election  is  past  ?  Why  should  the  locking  of  the 
door  be  delayed  until  the  horse  is  gone  ? 

An  election  is  a  public  affair.  The  people,  exer 
cising  the  right  to  select  their  officials  and  to  de 
cide  upon  the  policies  to  be  pursued,  proceed  to 
their  several  polling  places  on  election  day  and 
register  their  will.  What  excuse  can  be  given  for 
secrecy  as  to  the  influences  at  work?  If  a  man, 
pecuniarily  interested  in  "concentrating  the  con 
trol  of  the  railroads  in  one  management,"  subscribes 
a  large  sum  to  aid  in  carrying  the  election,  why 
should  his  part  in  the  campaign  be  concealed  until 
he  has  put  the  officials  under  obligation  to  him? 
If  a  trust  magnate  contributes  $100,000  to  elect 
political  friends  to  office  with  a  view  to  presenting 
hostile  legislation,  why  should  that  fact  be  con 
cealed  until  his  friends  are  securely  seated  in  their 
official  positions? 

This  is  not  a  new  question ;  it  is  a  question  which 
has  been  agitated — a  question  which  the  Republican 
leaders  fully  understand — a  question  which  the  Re 
publican  candidate  has  studied,  and  yet  he  refuses 


110  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

to  declare  himself  in  favor  of  the  legislation  abso 
lutely  necessary,  namely,  legislation  requiring  pub 
lication  before  the  election. 

How  can  the  people  hope  to  rule  if  they  are  not 
able  to  learn,  until  after  the  election,  what  the  pred 
atory  interests  are  doing?  The  Democratic  party 
meets  the  issue  honestly  and  courageously.  It  says : 

"We  pledge  the  Democratic  party  to  the  enactment  of  a 
law  prohibiting  any  corporation  from  contributing  to  a  cam 
paign  fund,  and  any  individual  from  contributing  an  amount 
above  a  reasonable  maximum,  and  providing  for  the  publi 
cation,  before  election,  of  all  such  contributions  above  a 
reasonable  minimum." 

The  Democratic  national  committee  immediately 
proceeded  to  interpret  and  apply  this  plank,  an 
nouncing  that  no  contributions  would  be  received 
from  corporations,  that  no  individual  would  be  al 
lowed  to  contribute  more  than  $10,000,  and  that  all 
contributions  above  $100  would  be  made  public  be 
fore  the  election — those  received  before  October  15 
to  be  made  public  on  or  before  that  day,  those  re 
ceived  afterward  to  be  made  public  on  the  day  when 
received,  and  no  such  contributions  to  be  accepted 
within  three  days  of  the  election.  The  expenditures 
are  to  be  published  after  the  election.  Here  is  a 
plan  which  is  complete  and  effective. 

Next  to  the  corrupt  use  of  money,  the  present 
method  of  electing  United  States  Senators  is  most 
responsible  for  the  obstruction  of  reforms.  For  one 
hundred  years  after  the  adoption  of  the  constitu 
tion,  the  demand  for  the  popular  election  of  Sena 
tors,  while  finding  increased  expression,  did  not  be 
come  a  dominant  sentiment.  A  constitutional 
amendment  had  from  time  to  time  been  suggested 


SHALL  THE  PEOPLE  RULE  111 

and  the  matter  had  been  more  or  less  discussed  in 
a  few  of  the  States,  but  the  movement  had  not 
reached  a  point  where  it  manifested  itself  through 
Congressional  action.  In  the  Fifty-second  Congress, 
however,  a  resolution  was  reported  from  a  house 
committee  proposing  the  necessary  constitutional 
amendment,  and  this  resolution  passed  the  House  of 
Representatives  by  a  vote  which  was  practically 
unanimous.  In  the  Fifty-third  Congress  a  similar 
resolution  was  reported  to,  and  adopted  by,  the 
House  of  Representatives.  Both  the  Fifty-second 
and  Fifty-third  Congresses  were  Democratic.  The 
Republicans  gained  control  of  the  House  as  a  result 
of  the  election  of  1894  and  in  the  Fifty-fourth  Con 
gress  the  proposition  died  in  committee.  As  time 
went  on,  however,  the  sentiment  grew  among  the 
people,  until  it  forced  a  Republican  Congress  to  fol 
low  the  example  set  by  the  Democrats,  and  then  an 
other  and  another  Republican  Congress  acted  fa 
vorably.  State  after  State  has  endorsed  this  re 
form,  until  near]y  two-thirds  of  the  States  have 
recorded  themselves  in  its  favor.  The  United  States 
Senate,  however,  impudently  and  arrogantly  ob 
structs  the  passage  of  the  resolution,  notwithstand 
ing  the  fact  that  the  voters  of  the  United  States, 
by  an  overwhelming  majority,  demand  it.  And  this 
refusal  is  the  more  significant  when  it  is  remem 
bered  that  a  number  of  Senators  owe  their  election 
to  great  corporate  interests.  Three  Democratic  na 
tional  platforms — the  platforms  of  1900,  1904  and 
1 908 — specifically  call  for  a  change  in  the  constitu 
tion  which  will  put  the  election  of  Senators  in  the 
hands  of  the  voters,  and  the  proposition  has  been 


112  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

endorsed  by  a  number  of  the  smaller  parties,  but  no 
Republican  national  convention  has  been  willing  to 
champion  the  cause  of  the  people  on  this  subject. 
The  subject  was  ignored  by  the  Republican  national 
convention  in  1900 ;  it  was  ignored  in  1904,  and  the 
proposition  was  explicitly  repudiated  in  1908,  for 
the  recent  Republican  national  convention,  by  a 
vote  of  866  to  114,  rejected  the  plank  endorsing  the 
popular  election  of  Senators — and  this  was  done  in 
the  convention  which  nominated  Mr.  Taf t,  few  dele 
gates  from  his  own  State  voting  for  the  plank. 

In  his  notification  speech,  the  Republican  candi 
date,  speaking  of  the  election  of  Senators  by  the 
people,  says:  " Personally,  I  am  inclined  to  favor 
it,  but  it  is  hardly  a  party  question."  What  is  nec 
essary  to  make  this  a  party  question?  When  the 
Democratic  convention  endorses  a  proposition  by  a 
unanimous  vote,  and  the  Republican  convention  re 
jects  the  proposition  by  a  vote  of  seven  to  one,  does 
it  not  become  an  issue  between  the  parties?  Mr. 
Taft  cannot  remove  the  question  from  the  arena 
of  politics  by  expressing  a  personal  inclination  to 
ward  the  Democratic  position.  For  several  years 
he  has  been  connected  with  the  administration. 
What  has  he  ever  said  or  done  to  bring  this  question 
before  the  public  ?  What  enthusiasm  has  he  shown 
in  the  reformation  of  the  Senate  ?  What  influence 
could  he  exert  in  behalf  of  a  reform  which  his  party 
has  openly  and  notoriously  condemned  in  its  con 
vention,  and  to  which  he  is  attached  only  by  a  be 
lated  expression  of  personal  inclination? 

" Shall  the  people  rule?"  Every  remedial  meas 
ure  of  a  national  character  must  run  the  gauntlet 


SHALL  THE  PEOPLE  RULE  113 

of  the  Senate.  The  President  may  personally  in 
cline  toward  a  reform ;  the  House  may  consent  to  it ; 
but  as  long  as  the  Senate  obstructs  the  reform,  the 
people  must  wait.  The  President  may  heed  a  pop 
ular  demand ;  the  House  may  yield  to  public  opin 
ion;  but  as  long  as  the  Senate  is  defiant,  the  rule 
of  the  people  is  defeated.  The  Democratic  platform 
very  properly  describes  the  popular  election  of  Sen 
ators  as  "the  gateway  to  other  national  reforms." 
Shall  we  open  the  gate,  or  shall  we  allow  the  ex 
ploiting  interests  to  bar  the  way  by  the  control  of 
this  branch  of  the  federal  legislature?  Through  a 
Democratic  victory,  and  through  a  Democratic  vic 
tory  only,  can  the  people  secure  the  popular  election 
of  Senators.  The  smaller  parties  are  unable  to 
secure  this  reform;  the  Republican  party,  under 
its  present  leadership,  is  resolutely  opposed  to  it; 
the  Democratic  party  stands  for  it  and  has  boldly 
demanded  it.  If  I  am  elected  to  the  presidency, 
those  who  are  elected  upon  the  ticket  with  me  will 
be,  like  myself,  pledged  to  this  reform,  and  I  shall 
convene  Congress  in  extraordinary  session  imme 
diately  after  inauguration,  and  ask,  among  other 
things,  for  the  fulfilment  of  this  platform  pledge. 

The  third  instrumentality  employed  to  defeat  the 
will  of  the  people  is  found  in  the  rules  of  the  House 
of  Representatives.  Our  platform  points  out  that 
"the  house  of  representatives  was  designed  by  the 
fathers  of  the  constitution  to  be  the  popular  branch 
of  our  Government,  responsive  to  the  public  will," 
and  adds: 

"The  House  of  Representatives,  as  controlled  in  recent 
years  by  the  Republican  party,  has  ceased  to  be  a  deliberative 


114  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

and  legislative  body,  responsive  to  the  will  of  a  majority 
of  the  members,  but  has  come  under  the  absolute  domination 
of  the  speaker,  who  has  entire  control  of  its  deliberations 
and  powers  of  legislation. 

"We  have  observed  with  amazement  the  popular  branch 
of  our  Federal  Government  helpless  to  obtain  either  the  con 
sideration  or  enactment  of  measures  desired  by  a  majority 
of  its  members." 

This  arraignment  is  fully  justified.  The  reform 
Republicans  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  when 
in  the  minority  in  their  own  party,  are  as  helpless 
to  obtain  a  hearing  or  to  secure  a  vote  upon  a  meas 
ure  as  are  the  Democrats.  In  the  recent  session  of 
the  present  Congress,  there  was  a  considerable  ele 
ment  in  the  Republican  party  favorable  to  remedial 
legislation ;  but  a  few  leaders,  in  control  of  the  or 
ganization,  despotically  supprest  these  members, 
and  thus  forced  a  real  majority  in  the  House  to 
submit  to  a  well-organized  minority.  The  Repub 
lican  national  convention,  instead  of  rebuking  this 
attack  upon  popular  government,  eulogized  Con 
gress  and  nominated  as  the  Republican  candidate 
for  Vice-President  one  of  the  men  who  shared  in  the 
responsibility  for  the  coercion  of  the  House.  Our 
party  demands  that  1 1  the  House  of  Representatives 
shall  again  become  a  deliberative  body,  controlled 
by  a  majority  of  the  people's  representatives,  and 
not  by  the  speaker, ' '  and  is  pledged  to  adopt ' l  such 
rules  and  regulations  to  govern  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives  as  will  enable  a  majority  of  its  mem 
bers  to  direct  its  deliberations  and  control  legisla 
tion." 

" Shall  the  people  rule?"  They  can  not  do  so 
unless  they  can  control  the  House  of  Representa 
tives,  and,  through  their  representatives  in  the 


SHALL  THE  PEOPLE  RULE          115 

House,  give  expression  to  their  purposes  and  their 
desires.  The  Republican  party  is  committed  to  the 
methods  now  in  vogue  in  the  House  of  Representa 
tives;  the  Democratic  party  is  pledged  to  such  a 
revision  of  the  rules  as  Avill  bring  the  popular 
branch  of  the  Federal  Government  into  harmony 
with  the  ideas  of  those  who  framed  our  constitution 
and  founded  our  Government. 

11  Shall  the  people  rule?"  I  repeat,  is  declared  by 
our  platform  to  be  the  overshadowing  question,  and 
as  the  campaign  progresses,  I  shall  take  occasion  to 
discuss  this  question  as  it  manifests  itself  in  other 
issues ;  for  whether  we  consider  the  tariff  question, 
the  trust  question,  the  railroad  question,  the  bank 
ing  question,  the  labor  question,  the  question  of  im 
perialism,  the  development  of  our  waterways,  or 
any  other  of  the  numerous  problems  which  press 
for  solution,  we  shall  find  that  the  real  question  in 
volved  in  each  is,  whether  the  Government  shall 
remain  a  mere  business  asset  of  favor-seeking  cor 
porations  or  be  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  the 
people  for  the  advancement  of  the  common  weal. 

If  the  voters  are  satisfied  with  the  record  of  the 
Republican  party  and  with  its  management  of  pub 
lic  affairs,  we  cannot  reasonably  ask  for  a  change 
in  administration ;  if,  however,  the  voters  feel  that 
the  people,  as  a  whole,  have  too  little  influence  in 
shaping  the  policies  of  the  Government ;  if  they  feel 
that  great  combinations  of  capital  have  encroached 
upon  the  rights  of  the  masses,  and  employed  the 
instrumentalities  of  government  to  secure  an  unfair 
share  of  the  total  wealth  produced,  then  we  have  a 
right  to  expect  a  verdict  against  the  Republican 


116  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

party  and  in  favor  of  the  Democratic  party ;  for  our 
party  has  risked  defeat — aye,  suffered  defeat — in 
its  effort  to  arouse  the  conscience  of  the  public  and 
to  bring  about  that  very  awakening  to  which  Mr. 
Taft  has  referred. 

Only  those  are  worthy  to  be  entrusted  with  lead 
ership  in  a  great  cause  who  are  willing  to  die  for 
it,  and  the  Democratic  party  has  proven  its  worthi 
ness  by  its  refusal  to  purchase  victory  by  delivering 
the  people  into  the  hands  of  those  who  have  de 
spoiled  them.  In  this  contest  between  Democracy 
on  the  one  side  and  plutocracy  on  the  other,  the 
Democratic  party  has  taken  its  position  on  the  side 
of  equal  rights,  and  invites  the  opposition  of  those 
who  use  politics  to  secure  special  privileges  and 
governmental  favoritism.  Gauging  the  progress  of 
the  nation,  not  by  the  happiness  or  wealth  or  re 
finement  of  a  few,  but  by  the  prosperity  and  ad 
vancement  of  the  average  man,  the  Democratic 
party  charges  the  Republican  party  with  being  the 
promoter  of  present  abuses,  the  opponent  of  neces 
sary  remedies  and  the  only  bulwark  of  private  mo 
nopoly.  The  Democratic  party  affirms  that  in  this 
campaign  it  is  the  only  party  having  a  prospect 
of  success,  which  stands  for  justice  in  government 
and  for  equity  in  the  distribution  of  the  fruits  of 
industry. 

We  may  expect  those  who  have  committed  lar 
ceny  by  law  and  purchased  immunity  with  their  po 
litical  influence,  to  attempt  to  raise  false  issues,  and 
to  employ  "the  livery  of  Heaven"  to  conceal  their 
evil  purposes,  but  they  can  no  longer  deceive.  The 
Democratic  party  is  not  the  enemy  of  any  legitimate 


SHALL  THE  PEOPLE  RULE  117 

industry  or  of  honest  accumulations.  It  is,  on  the 
contrary,  a  friend  of  industry  and  the  steadfast  pro 
tector  of  that  wealth  which  represents  a  service  to 
societ}7-.  The  Democratic  party  does  not  seek  to  an 
nihilate  all  corporations;  it  simply  asserts  that,  as 
the  Government  creates  corporations,  it  must  retain 
the  power  to  regulate  and  to  control  them,  and  that 
it  should  not  permit  any  corporation  to  convert 
itself  into  a  monopoly.  Surely  we  should  have  the 
cooperation  of  all  legitimate  corporations  in  our 
effort  to  protect  business  and  industry  from  the 
odium  which  lawless  combinations  of  capital  will, 
if  unchecked,  cast  upon  them.  Only  by  the  separa 
tion  of  the  good  from  the  bad  can  the  good  be  made 
secure. 

The  Democratic  party  seeks  not  revolution  but 
reformation,  and  I  need  hardly  remind  the  student 
of  history  that  cures  are  mildest  when  applied  at 
once ;  that  remedies  increase  in  severity  as  their  ap 
plication  is  postponed.  Blood  poisoning  may  be 
stopt  by  the  loss  of  a  finger  to-day ;  it  may  cost  an 
arm  to-morrow  or  a  life  the  next  day.  So  poison  in 
the  body  politic  cannot  be  removed  too  soon,  for  the 
evils  produced  by  it  increase  with  the  lapse  of 
time. 

That  there  are  abuses  which  need  to  be  remedied, 
even  the  Republican  candidate  admits;  that  his 
party  is  unable  to  remedy  them  has  been  fully  dem 
onstrated  during  the  last  ten  years.  I  have  such 
confidence  in  the  intelligence  as  well  as  the  patriot 
ism  of  the  people,  that  I  cannot  doubt  their  readi 
ness  to  accept  the  reasonable  reforms  which  our 
party  proposes,  rather  than  permit  the  continued 


118  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

growth  of  existing  abuses  to  hurry  the  country  on 
to  remedies  more  radical  and  more  drastic. 

The  platform  of  our  party  closes  with  a  brief 
statement  of  the  party's  ideal.  It  favors  "such  an 
administration  of  the  Government  as  will  insure, 
as  far  as  human  wisdom  can,  that  each  citizen  shall 
draw  from  society  a  reward  commensurate  with  his 
contribution  to  the  welfare  of  society." 

Governments  are  good  in  proportion  as  they  as 
sure  to  each  member  of  society,  so  far  as  govern 
ments  can,  a  return  proportionate  to  individual 
merit. 

There  is  a  Divine  law  of  rewards.  When  the 
Creator  gave  us  the  earth,  with  its  fruitful  soil,  the 
sunshine  with  its  warmth,  and  the  rains  with  their 
moisture,  He  proclaimed,  as  clearly  as  if  His  voice 
had  thundered  from  the  clouds:  "Go  work,  and 
according  to  your  industry  and  your  intelligence, 
so  shall  be  your  reward."  Only  where  might  has 
overthrown,  cunning  undermined  or  government 
suspended  this  law,  has  a  different  law  prevailed. 
To  conform  the  Government  to  this  law  ought  to 
be  the  ambition  of  the  statesman ;  and  no  party  can 
have  a  higher  mission  than  to  make  it  a  reality 
wherever  governments  can  legitimately  operate. 

Recognizing  that  I  am  indebted  for  my  nomina 
tion  to  the  rank  and  file  of  our  party,  and  that  my 
election  must  come,  if  it  comes  at  all,  from  the  un- 
purchased  and  unpurchasable  suffrages  of  the  Amer 
ican  people,  I  promise,  if  entrusted  with  the  re 
sponsibilities  of  this  high  office,  to  concentrate  what 
ever  ability  I  have  to  the  ®ne  purpose  of  making 
this,  in  fact,  a  government  in  which  the  people  rule 


SHALL  THE  PEOPLE  RULE  119 

— SL  government  which  will  do  justice  to  all,  and 
offer  to  every  one  the  highest  possible  stimulus  to 
great  and  persistent  effort,  by  assuring -to  each  the 
enjoyment  of  his  just  share  of  the  proceeds  of  hig 
toil,  no  matter  in-  what  part  of -the -vineyard  he  la 
bors,  or  ta  what  occupation,  profession  or  calling 
he  devotes  himself. 


IX 
THE  TRUST  QUESTION 

Delivered  in  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  on  Aug.  25,  1908. 

NOWHERE  does  the  Republican  party  show 
its  indifference  to  real  reform  more  than 
in  its  treatment  of  the  trust  question.  Here 
is  the  Republican  platform : 

"The  Republican  party  passed  the  Sherman  anti-trust 
law  over  Democratic  opposition  and  enforced  it  after  Demo 
cratic  dereliction.  It  has  been  a  wholesome  instrument  for 
good  in  the  hands  of  a  wise  and  fearless  administration. 
But  experience  has  shown  that  its  effectiveness  can  be 
strengthened  and  its  real  objects  better  attained  by  such 
amendments  as  will  give  to  the  Federal  Government  greater 
supervision  and  control  over,  and  secure  greater  publicity 
in,  the  management  of  that  class  of  corporations  engaged  in 
interstate  commerce,  having  power  and  opportunity  to  effect 
monopolies." 

The  Sherman  anti-trust  law  was  passed  eighteen 
years  ago ;  it  has  a  criminal  clause  which  provides  a 
penitentiary  punishment  for  those  who  conspire  to 
gether  in  restraint  of  trade.  Ever  since  the  enact 
ment  of  the  law,  with  the  exception  of  four  years, 
the  Republican  party  has  controlled  the  executive 
department  of  the  Government,  and,  during  two 
years  of  the  four,  it  controlled  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives.  Instead  of  Democratic  dereliction,  the 
Democratic  party  has  been  urging,  year  after  year, 
the  strict  enforcement  of  that  law,  and  the  Repub 
lican  party  has  been  explaining  year  after  year  why 
(120) 


THE  TRUST  QUESTION  121 

it  was  impossible  to  enforce  it.  Instead  of  being  a 
"wholesome  instrument  for  good."  it  has  been  al 
most  useless,  so  far  as  the  protection  of  the  public 
is  concerned,  for  the  trusts  have  grown  in  number, 
in  strength,  and  in  arrogance,  at  the  very  time  when 
the  Republican  party  was  boasting  of  its  enforce 
ment  of  the  law.  The  Steel  Trust  was  formed  im 
mediately  after  the  election  of  1900,  and  a  promi 
nent  Republican  said,  in  a  speech  soon  after,  that 
it  might  have  prevented  a  Republican  victory  if  it 
had  been  formed  before  the  election. 

Most  of  the  trusts  have  never  been  disturbed,  and 
those  that  have  been  prosecuted  have  not  had  their 
business  seriously  interrupted.  The  President  has 
done  something  toward  the  enforcement  of  the  law, 
but  not  nearly  enough  and  the  Republican  leaders 
have  thwarted  him  at  every  point.  Finally  the 
President  became  so  exasperated  that  he  sent  to 
Congress  a  message  which  shocked  Republican  lead 
ers  by  the  fierceness  of  its  denunciation  of  the  pred 
atory  interests.  The  very  convention  that  spoke  in 
its  platform  of  the  administration  as  "a  wise  and 
fearless  one"  was  composed  largely  of  the  Senators 
and  members  of  Congress,  who  boldly  opposed  every 
effort  to  free  the  people  from  the  clutches  of  the 
favor-seeking  corporations. 

The  Republican  platform  says  that  experience 
has  shown  that  the  effectiveness  of  the  anti-trust 
law  could  be  strengthened  "by  amendments  which 
will  give  the  Federal  Government  greater  super 
vision  and  control  over,  and  greater  publicity  as  to, 
the  management  of  those  interstate  commerce  cor 
porations  which  have  the  power  and  opportunity  to 

119 


122  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

effect  monopolies."  That  is  all.  No  pointing  out 
of  remedies ;  no  outlining  of  a  plan  for  more  effec 
tive  legislation — simply  a  general  statement  that 
promises  nothing  in  particular.  And  Mr.  Taft's 
speech  of  acceptance  is  even  weaker  than  the  plat 
form.  He  gives  no  evidence  of  having  studied  the 
question,  and  one  looks  in  vain  in  his  notification 
speech  for  any  sign  of  indignation  at  what  the 
trusts  have  been  doing  or  for  evidence  of  zeal  in 
their  prosecution.  He  has,  for  several  years,  been 
the  intimate  official  companion  of  the  President, 
but  he  has  caught  none  of  the  fire  which  the  Presi 
dent  manifested  in  his  message  of  last  January. 

If,  in  the  presence  of  an  aroused  people,  and  in 
the  heat  of  a  campaign,  the  Republican  party  con 
tents  itself  with  a  colorless  platform  on  this  sub 
ject,  what  can  we  expect  in  the  way  of  activity 
when  the  exigencies  of  the  campaign  are  passed? 
If,  when  Mr.  Taft  is  appealing  to  the  Roosevelt 
Republicans,  his  discussion  of  the  subject  is  so  life 
less  and  his  manner  so  apologetic  and  apathetic, 
what  reason  have  we  to  expect  either  vigor  in  the 
enforcement  of  the  law  or  earnestness  in  the  search 
for  additional  remedies? 

In  his  speech  delivered  about  a  year  ago  announc 
ing  his  candidacy,  Mr.  Taft  suggested  that  the 
present  law  be  so  amended  as  to  permit  "reasona 
ble"  restraint  of  trade.  Such  an  amendment  would 
be  as  absurd  as  an  amendment  to  the  law  against 
burglary  limiting  the  law  to  cases  in  which  more 
than  two  burglars  entered  the  house  at  one  time, 
or  took  more  than  half  they  found.  In  his  notifica 
tion  speech  he  suggests  national  incorporation — a 


THE  TRUST  QUESTION  123 

remedy  which  would  make  conditions  worse  because, 
without  adding  to  the  power  of  Congress  to  pre 
vent  monopolies,  it  would  deprive  the  States  of  the 
power  to  protect  their  own  people. 

Now,  let  me  contrast  the  Democratic  platform 
with  the  Republican  platform.  Nowhere  is  the  dif 
ference  in  the  temper  of  the  parties  more  noticea 
ble;  nowhere  is  the  difference  in  the  method  of 
dealing  with  questions  more  manifest.  Our  plat 
form  says: 

"A  private  monopoly  is  indefensible  and  intolerable.  We 
therefore  favor  the  vigorous  enforcement  of  the  criminal 
law  against  guilty  trust  magnates  and  officials,  and  de 
mand  the  enactment  of  such  additional  legislation  as  may 
be  necessary  to  make  it  impossible  for  a  private  monopoly 
to  exist  in  the  Tnited  States.  Among  the  additional  rem 
edies,  we-  specify  three;  First,  a  law  preventing  a  duplication 
of  directors  among  competing  corporations;  second,  a  li 
cense  system  which  will,  without  abridging  the  right  of 
each  State  to  create  corporations,  or  its  right  to  regulate  as 
it  will  foreign  corporations  doing  business  within  its  limits, 
make  it  necessary  for  a  manufacturing  or  trading  corpora 
tion  engaged  in  interstate  commerce  to  take  out  a  federal 
license  before  it  shall  be  permitted  to  control  as  much  as 
twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the  product  in  which  it  deals,  the 
license  to  protect  the  public  from  watered  stock  and  to 
prohibit  the  control  by  such  corporation  of  more  than  fifty 
per  cent,  of  the  total  amount  of  any  product  consumed  in 
the  United  States ;  and,  third,  a  law  compelling  such  li 
censed  corporations  to  sell  to  all  purchasers  in  all  parts  of 
the  country  on  the  same  terms,  after  making  due  allowance 
for  cost  of  transportation." 

Here  is  a  plain,  candid  statement  of  the  party's 
position.  There  is  no  quibbling,  no  evasion,  no  am 
biguity.  A  private  monopoly  is  indefensible  and 
intolerable.  It  is  bad — bad  in  principle,  and  bad  in 
practise.  No  apology  can  be  offered  for  it,  and  r,r> 
people  should  endure  it.  Our  party's  position  is 


124  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

£"  entirely  in  harmony  with  the  position  of  Jefferson. 
"With  a  knowledge  of  human  nature  which  few  men 
have  equaled  and  none  surpassed,  and  with  extraor 
dinary  foresight,  he  exprest  unalterable  opposition 
to  every  form  of  private  monopoly.  The  student 
of  history  will  find  that  upon  this  subject,  as  upon 
other  subjects  of  Government,  the  great  founder 
of  the  Democratic  party  took  his  position  upon  the 
side  of  the  whole  people  and  against  those  who  seek 
to  make  a  private  use  of  Government,  or  strive  to 
secure  special  privileges  at  the  expense  of  the  pub 
lic.  J[ 

I  have,  in  discussing  the  tariff  question,  presented 
one  of  our  remedies,  namely,  the  removal  of  the 
tariff  from  imports  which  compete  with  trust-made 
goods.  This,  we  believe,  would  greatly  lessen  the 
extortion  practised  by  the  trusts  and  bring  about 
the  dissolution  of  many  monopolistic  combines.  But 
we  are  not  satisfied  merely  with  the  lessening  of 
extortion  or  with  the  dissolution  of  some  of  the 
trusts. 

Because  the  private  monopoly  is  indefensible  and 
intolerable,  the  Democratic  party  favors  its  exter 
mination.  It  pledges  itself  to  the  vigorous  enforce 
ment  of  the  criminal  law  against  guilty  trust  mag 
nates  and  officials.  It  is  impossible  for  the  Repub 
lican  party  to  enforce  the  present  criminal  law 
against  trust  officials;  these  officials  are  intimately 
connected  with  the  Republican  party  in  the  present 
campaign.  Take,  for  instance,  the  chairman  of  the 
Republican  Speaker's  committee,  Mr.  Dupont,  of 
Delaware.  He  is  the  defendant  in  a  suit  which  the 
Government  brought  and  is  now  prosecuting.  Mr. 


THE  TRUST  QUESTION  125 

Dupont  is  charged  with  violation  of  the  anti-trust 
law.  Why  should  he  be  put  on  the  executive  com 
mittee  and  then  be  given  control  of  the  speaking 
part  of  the  campaign?  If  you  talk  to  a  Republi 
can  leader  about  penitentiary  punishment  for  of 
fenders,  he  favors  fining  the  corporation  on  the 
ground  that  it  is  impossible  to  convict  individuals, 
but  when  you  urge  fines  you  are  told  that  fines  are 
unjust  to  innocent  stockholders.  We  favor  both 
fine  and  imprisonment,  but  we  think  it  is  better 
to  prevent  monopolies  than  to  first  authorize  them 
to  prey  upon  the  public  and  then  try  to  punish 
them  for  doing  so.  Mr.  Taft  favors  control  of 
trusts  instead  of  extermination,  but  after  years  of 
experience  the  people  have  learned  that  the  trusts 
control  the  Government. 

Our  platform  does  not  stop  with  the  enforcement 
of  the  law ;  it  demands  the  enactment  of  such  addi 
tional  legislation  as  may  be  necessary  to  make  it 
impossible  for  a  private  monopoly  to  exist  in  the 
United  States. 

The  Democratic  party  does  not  content  itself 
with  a  definition  of  the  wrong  or  with  a  denuncia 
tion  of  it.  It  proceeds  to  outline  remedies.  The 
first  is  a  law  preventing  a  duplication  of  directors 
among  competing  corporations.  No  one  can  object 
to  this  remedy  unless  he  is  in  sympathy  with  the 
trusts,  rather  than  with  the  people  who  are  victim 
ized  by  the  trusts.  There  is  no  easier  way  of  stifling 
competition  than  to  make  one  board  of  directors 
serve  for  a  number  of  competing  corporations.  It 
is  not  necessary  for  corporations  to  enter  into  an 
agreement  for  the  restraint  of  trade  if  the  cor- 


126  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

porations  can,  without  violating  the  law,  reach  the 
same  end  by  electing  the  same  directors. 

The  second  remedy  is  one  upon  which  I  desire  to 
dwell  at  some  length.  We  believe  it  to  be  a  simple, 
complete  and  easily  enforced  remedy.  As  stated  in 
the  platform,  it  is : 

"A  license  system  which  will,  without  abridging  the  right 
of  each  State  to  create  corporations,  or  its  right  to  regu 
late  as  it  will  foreign  corporations  doing  business  within 
its  limits,  make  it  necessary  for  a  manufacturing  or  trading 
corporation  engaged  in  interstate  commerce  to  take  out  a 
federal  license  before  it  shall  be  permitted  to  control  as  much 
as  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the  product  in  which  it  deals, 
the  license  to  protect  the  public  from  watered  stock  to  pro 
hibit  the  control  by  such  corporation  of  more  than  fifty 
per  cent,  of  the  total  amount  of  any  product  consumed  in 
the  United  States." 

It  will  be  noticed,  in  the  first  place,  that  care  was 
taken  by  those  who  drew  the  platform  to  provide 
that  there  should  be  no  abridgment  of  the  right  of 
a  State  to  create  corporations,  or  of  its  right  to 
regulate  as  it  will  foreign  corporations  doing  busi 
ness  within  its  limits.  This  plan,  therefore,  does 
not  in  the  least  infringe  upon  the  right  of  the  States 
to  protect  their  own  people.  It  simply  provides  for 
the  exercise  by  Congress  of  the  power  vested  in  it 
to  regulate  interstate  commerce.  As  long  as  a  cor 
poration  confines  itself  to  the  State  in  which  it  is 
created,  Congress  cannot  interfere  with  it ;  but  when 
the  corporation  engages  in  interstate  commerce, 
Congress  is  the  only  power  that  can  regulate  its 
interstate  business. 

In  proposing  the  exercise  of  this  power,  the  Dem 
ocratic  platform  is  not  asserting  a  new  doctrine. 
In  January,  1896,  a  Republican  House  of  Repre- 


THE  TRUST  QUESTION  127 

sentatives  adopted  a  resolution  calling  upon  Hon. 
Judson  Harmon,  then  Attorney-General  of  the 
United  States,  now  the  Democratic  candidate  for 
Governor  of  Ohio,  to  report  what  steps,  if  any,  had 
been  taken  to  enforce  the  law  of  the  United  States 
against  trusts,  combinations  and  conspiracies  in  re 
straint  of  trade  and  commerce,  and  what  further 
legislation  was,  in  his  opinion,  needed  to  protect  the 
people  against  them.  On  the  8th  day  of  February 
he  submitted  a  reply,  in  which  he  described  the 
steps  which  were  being  taken  to  enforce  the  law, 
and  recommended  the  enactment  of  further  legisla 
tion.  I  call  special  attention  to  the  following  words : 

"Congress  may  make  it  unlawful  to  ship  from  one  State 
to  another,  in  carrying  out,  or  attempting  to  carry  out, 
the  designs  of  such  (State)  organizations,  articles  pro 
duced,  owned  or  controlled  by  them  or  any  of  their  mem 
bers  or  agents." 

His  recommendation  embodies  the  very  idea 
which  our  plan  now  proposes  to  carry  out.  We 
want  to  make  it  unlawful  for  a  corporation  to  use 
the  instrumentalities  of  interstate  commerce  for  the 
carrying  out  of  a  monopolistic  purpose.  Surely  no 
party  can  consistently  claim  to  be  opposed  to  pri 
vate  monopolies  which  will  permit  the  interstate 
railroads  to  be  used  to  carry  out  the  designs  of  a  t 
monopoly,  or  which  will  permit  the  interstate  tele 
graph  lines  to  be  used  to  increase  the  power  of  a 
private  monopoly;  or,  to  make  the  case  stronger, 
no  party  can  consistently  claim  to  be  opposed  to 
the  trusts  which  will  allow  the  mails  of  the  United 
States  to  be  used  by  the  trusts  as  an  agency  for  the 
extermination  of  competition.  Congress  has  already 
exercised  this  power,  to  exterminate  lotteries.  Why 


128  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

not  exercise  it  to  make  private  monopolies  impossi 
ble? 

If  it  is  conceded  that  Congress  has  the  power  to 
prevent  the  shipment  of  goods  from  one  State  to 
another  when  such  shipment  is  a  part  of  a  con 
spiracy  against  trade  and  commerce,  then  the  only 
question  is  as  to  the  means  to  be  employed  to  pre 
vent  such  shipment.  The  license  system  prevents 
an  easy  way  of  regulating  such  corporations  as  need 
federal  regulation.  The  law  can  prohibit  the  doing 
of  a  thing  and  impose  a  penalty  for  the  violation 
of  the  law,  but  experience  has  shown  that  it  is  very 
difficult  to  gather  up  evidence  from  all  sections  of 
the  United  States  and  prosecute  a  great  corpora 
tion  ;  so  difficult  is  it,  that  altho  the  Sherman  anti 
trust  law  has  been  in  force  for  eighteen  years,  no 
trust  magnate  has  been  sent  to  the  penitentiary  for 
violating  the  law,  altho  in  a  few  cases  the  court  has 
found  corporations  guilty  of  a  violation  of  the  law. 
In  the  enforcement  of  a  penalty,  the  Government 
must  seek  the  defendant ;  by  the  use  of  the  license 
system,  the  corporation  is  compelled  to  seek  the 
Government. 

\  A  trust  can  best  be  defined  as  a  corporation  which 
controls  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  total  quantity 
of  any  article  used  in  this  country  as  to  be  able  to 
regulate  the  price  and  terms  of  sale,  and  as  the 
proportion  controlled  determines  the  power  of  the 
trust  for  harm,  it  has  seemed  best  to  use  proportion 
ate  control  as  the  basis  of  this  plan.  Twenty-five 
per  cent,  has  been  fixt  arbitrarily  as  the  proportion 
at  which  the  line  should  be  drawn.  A  corporation 
which  controls  less  than  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the 


THE  TRUST  QUESTION  129 

product  in  which  it  deals,  may,  in  extraordinary 
cases,  exert  a  perceptible  influence  in  controlling  the 
price  of  the  product  and  the  terms  of  sale,  but  as  a 
rule  a  corporation  must  control  more  than  that  per 
centage  of  the  total  product  before  it  can  exert  a 
hurtful  influence  on  trade.  Under  this  plan,  the 
small  corporations  are  left  entirely  free  and  un 
hampered.  This  is  not  a  discrimination  against  the 
larger  corporation,  but  a  recognition  of  the  fact  that 
rules  are  necessary  in  the  case  of  corporations  con 
trolling  a  large  percentage  of  the  product  which  are 
not  necessary  in  the  case  of  smaller  corporations. 
Probably  not  one  per  cent,  of  the  corporations  en 
gaged  in  interstate  commerce  would  be  required  to 
take  out  a  license  under  this  plan — possibly  not  one- 
half  of  one  per  cent. — and  yet  what  a  protection 
the  remaining  ninety-nine  per  cent.  wrould  find  in 
the  law  requiring  a  license  in  the  case  of  the  larger 
ones! 

The  license,  however,  would  not  prevent  the 
growth  of  the  corporations  licensed.  It  would  sim 
ply  bring  them  under  the  eye  of  the  Federal  Gov 
ernment  and  compel  them  to  deal  with  the  public 
in  such  a  way  as  to  afford  the  public  the  protection 
necessary.  One  of  the  restrictions  suggested  is  that 
such  licensed  corporations  be  compelled  to  sell  to 
all  purchasers  in  all  parts  of  the  country  on  the 
same  terms,  after  making  due  allowance  for  cost  of 
transportation.  Mr.  Taft  attacks  this  restriction  as 
"utterly  impracticable."  He  says: 

"If  it  can  be  shown  that  in  order  to  drive  out  competi 
tion,  a  corporation  owning  a  large  part  of  the  plant  pro 
ducing  an  article  is  selling  in  one  part  of  the  country, 


130  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

where  is  has  competitors,  at  a  low  and  unprofitable  pricer 
and  in  another  part  of  the  country,  where  it  has  none,  at 
an  exorbitant  price,  this  is  evidence  that  it  is  attempting 
an  unlawful  monopoly  and  justifies  conviction  under  the 
anti-trust  law." 

If  such  an  act  is  now  unlawful,  why  is  he  so 
frightened  at  a  plan  which  gives  to  the  small  com 
petitor  this  very  protection  ?  The  trouble  with  the 
present  law  is  that  it  does  not  restrain  the  evils  at 
which  it  is  aimed.  The  plan  proposed  in  the  Demo 
cratic  platform  brings  the  corporation  under  the 
surveillance  of  the  Government  when  it  has  reached 
the  danger  point,  and  thereafter  subjects  it  to  fed 
eral  scrutiny.  The  present  law  simply  prohibits  it 
in  an  indefinite  sort  of  way,  and  then  leaves  the 
officers  of  the  law  to  scour  the  country  and  hunt  up 
violations  of  the  law's  provisions.  Mr.  Taft  is  un 
duly  alarmed  at  this  proposal,  or  else  he  entirely 
fails  to  comprehend  the  details  of  the  plan.  He 
says: 

"To  supervise  the  business  of  corporations  in  such  a  way 
as  to  fix  the  price  of  commodities  and  compel  the  sale  at 
such  price  is  as  absurd  and  socialistic  a  plank  as  was  ever 
inserted  in  a  Democratic  political  platform." 

And  yet  this  sentence  is  found  in  the  same 
paragraph  with  the  sentence  above  quoted  in  which 
he  declares  that  it  is  even  now  a  violation  of  the 
Sherman  anti-trust  law  for  a  corporation  to  attempt 
to  destroy  a  competitor  by  selling  at  a  low  and  un 
profitable  price  where  it  has  competition,  and  at  an 
exorbitant  price  where  it  has  no  competition.  In 
what  respect  is  our  plan  more  socialistic  than  the 
plan  which  Mr.  Taft  endorses  ?  Merely  in  the  fact 
that  ours  can  be  enforced.  According  to  Mr.  Taft's 


THE  TRUST  QUESTION  131 

logic,  a  plan  is  not  socialistic  which  is  not  effective, 
but  the  same  would  be  socialistic  if  made  effective. 
Why  should  a  corporation,  supplying  twenty  mill 
ions  of  people — for  a  corporation  controlling  twen 
ty-five  per  cent,  of  the  total  product  supplies  one- 
fourth,  or  more,  of  our  population — why  should 
such  a  corporation  be  permitted  to  sell  at  one  price 
in  one  part  of  the  country  and  at  another  price  in 
another  part  ?  What  reason  can  a  corporation  have 
for  such  discrimination?  Prices  are  not  made  as 
a  matter  of  favor;  when  a  big  corporation  sells  to 
the  people  of  one  section  at  one  price  and  to  the 
people  of  another  section  at  another  price — the  cost 
of  transportation  being  taken  into  consideration- 
there  is  a  reason  for  it,  and  in  almost  every  case  the 
reason  is  to  be  found  in  the  desire  to  destroy  a  com 
petitor.  One  of  the  most  familiar  methods  of  the 
trust  is  to  undersell  a  small  competitor  in  the  small 
competitor's  territory — the  price  being  maintained 
elsewhere — until  the  small  competitor  is  driven  into 
bankruptcy  and  then  the  price  is  raised.  That  has 
been  done  over  and  over  again.  It  is  open  and  no 
torious  ;  and  yet,  with  the  Republican  party  in  com 
plete  power  at  Washington,  what  effort  has  been 
made  to  prevent  this  ?  This  remedy,  altho  vehement 
ly  denounced  by  Mr.  Taft,  will  appeal  to  the  average 
man  as  not  only  very  salutary,  but  very  necessary. 
Fifty  per  cent,  is  fixt  as  the  maximum  limit. 
When  a  corporation  controls  fifty  per  cent,  of  the 
total  product,  it  supplies  forty  millions  of  people 
with  that  product.  Is  that  not  enough  ?  Mr.  Taft 's 
objection  to  this  limitation  can  hardly  be  character 
ized  as  statesmanlike.  He  says : 


132  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

"A  corporation  controlling  forty-five  or  fifty  per  cent,  of 
the  profit  may,  by  well-known  methods,  frequently  effect 
a  monopoly  and  stamp  out  competition  in  a  part  of  a 
country  as  completely  as  if  it  controlled  sixty  or  seventy 
per  cent,  thereof." 

Why,  then,  does  he  not  propose  a  lower  limit? 
If  the  control  of  forty-five  per  cent,  may  constitute 
a  monopoly,  why  does  he  not  suggest  that  as  a  maxi 
mum?  It  cannot  be  because  of  any  disinclination 
to  amend  his  platform,  for  he  has  already  made  a 
patchwork  quilt  of  the  convention's  platform  by 
promiscuous  amendments. 

And  to  what  "  well-known "  methods  does  he  re 
fer  ?  To  the  underselling  of  competitors  in  one  sec 
tion  while  the  price  is  maintained  elsewhere  ?  And 
yet  this  is  the  very  thing  which  we  propose  to 
remedy,  but  he  proceeds  to  denounce  our  remedy 
as  absurd  and  socialistic.  The  trouble  with  Secre 
tary  Taft  is  that  he  spends  so  much  time  trying  to 
discover  excuses  for  inaction  in  trust  matters  that 
he  has  none  left  for  the  consideration  of  effective 
remedies.  He  spends  more  time  uttering  warnings 
against  remedies  proposed  than  he  does  in  pointing 
out  the  evils  to  be  remedied  or  in  suggesting  reme 
dies.  He  says: 

"The  combination  of  capital  in  large  plants  to  manu 
facture  goods  with  the  greatest  economy  is  just  as  neces 
sary  as  the  assembling  of  the  parts  of  a  machine  to  the 
economical  and  more  rapid  manufacture  of  what  in  old 
times  was  made  by  hand." 

And  he  adds  that : 

"The  Government  should  not  interfere  with  one  any 
more  than  the  other,  when  such  aggregations  of  capital  are 
legitimate  and  are  properly  controlled,  for  they  are  the  nat- 


THE  TRUST  QUESTION  133 

ural   results  of  modern  enterprise  and  are  boneficial  to  the 
public." 

No  one  proposes  to  interfere  with  production  on  a 
a  large  scale.  No  one  objects  to  production  on  a 
scale  sufficiently  large  to  enable  the  producer  to 
utilize  by-products  and  take  advantage  of  all  the 
economies  that  large  production  makes  possible.  It 
is  just  here  that  the  trust  magnates  attempt  to  con 
fuse  the  public  mind,  and  Mr.  Taft  has  unconscious 
ly  adopted  their  language. 

Let  the  issue  be  made  plain ;  let  the  distinction  be 
accurately  drawn;  let  the  respective  positions  of 
the  parties  be  fully  understood.  The  Democratic 
party  does  not  oppose  all  corporations ;  on  the  con 
trary,  it  recognizes  that  the  corporation  can  render* 
an  important  service  to  the  public.  The  Democratic 
party  wants  to  employ  every  instrumentality  that 
can  be  employed  for  the  advancement  of  the  com 
mon  good ;  but  the  Democratic  party  draws  the  line 
at  the  private  monopoly,  and  declares  that  a  private 
monopoly  cannot  be  justified  on  either  economic  or 
political  grounds. 

From  an  economic  standpoint,  a  monopoly  is  ob 
jectionable.  The  moment  a  corporation  secures  a 
practical  monopoly  in  the  production  or  sale  of  any 
article,  certain  evils  appear  which  outweigh  any 
good  that  can  come  from  large  production  or  con 
trol.  Wherever  private  monopolies  exist,  certain 
irresistible  tendencies  manifest  themselves.  First, 
it  raises  prices — this  is  the  first  thing  thought  of 
for  the  increasing  of  profits.  Then,  in  proportion 
as  it  becomes  the  only  purchaser  of  the  raw  ma 
terial,  it  reduces  the  price  of  the  raw  material,  and 


134  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

the  producer  of  that  raw  material,  having  no  other 
market,  must  accept  the  price  offered.  In  this  way, 
too,  the  profits  of  the  corporation  are  increased. 
Third,  a  reduction  in  the  quality  of  the  product 
affords  an  opportunity  for  increasing  profits. 
Fourth,  reduction  in  wages  follows  wherever  condi 
tions  will  permit. 

Competition  protects  the  purchaser,  for  when  a 
number  of  independent  producers  stand  ready  to 
supply  him  with  what  he  needs,  he  can  choose  be 
tween  them  and  buy  from  the  one  who  offers  the 
best  product  at  the  lowrest  price.  He  is  also  pro 
tected  in  quality  because  those  who  compete  for  the 
opportunity  to  sell  to  him  must  show  either  advan 
tage  in  price  or  advantage  in  quality.  Competition 
protects  the  man  who  produces  raw  material,  for 
when  there  are  a  number  of  bidders  for  that  which 
is  being  sold,  he  can  accept  the  highest  price  offered. 
Competition  also  helps  the  wage-earner,  for  his  skill 
is  the  finished  product  which  he  offers  upon  the  mar 
ket,  and  where  a  number  of  independent  industries 
are  endeavoring  to  secure  the  highest  skill,  the 
skilled  laborer  has  the  best  assurance  of  obtaining 
a  fair  recompense ;  when  there  is  but  one  employer, 
the  employe  must  take  the  price  offered,  because  he 
will  lose  the  advantage  of  his  experience  if  he 
must  go  out  to  find  a  different  kind  of  employ 
ment. 

The  business  men  of  the  country  have  felt  the 
pressure  of  the  trusts.  The  retailer  has  been  com 
pelled  to  enter  into  contracts  which  restrict  his  man 
agement  of  his  own  affairs ;  he  has  found  the  terms 
of  sale  and  payment  changed  to  his  disadvantage 


THE  TRUST  QUESTION  135 

and  he  has  been  forced  to  carry  more  and  more 
of  the  risks  of  trade.  He  is  convinced  that  there 
are  no  good  trusts  and  that  his  only  safety  is  in 
the  Democratic  plan  which  lays  the  axe  at  the  root 
of  the  tree. 

The  traveling  men  naturally  take  especial  inter 
est  in  the  trust  question,  because  the  more  complete 
the  monopoly  secured  by  a  corporation  the  less  they 
are  needed.  We  have  no  more  intelligent  class  than 
these  representatives  of  commerce,  and  their  retire 
ment  from  the  road  would  mean  a  serious  loss  to 
the  country,  while  a  few  promoters  would  be  the 
only  persons  benefited,  they  gaining  by  the  capi 
talization  of  the  salaries  saved  by  the  elimination 
of  competition. 

Mr.  Taft  either  misunderstands  or  misrepresents 
the  Democratic  position  in  regard  to  the  extermina 
tion  of  the  principle  of  private  monopoly.  In  his 
notification  speech,  he  says : 

"Mr.  Roosevelt  would  compel  the  trusts  to  conduct  their 
business  in  a  lawful  manner  and  secure  the  benefits  of  their 
operation  and  the  maintenance  of  the  prosperity  of  the 
country  of  which  they  are  an  important  part ;  while  Mr. 
Bryan  would  extirpate  and.  destroy  the  entire  business  in 
order  to  stamp  out  the  evils  which  they  have  practiced." 

Here  is  a  confession  by  Mr.  Taft  that  he  regards 
the  trusts  as  necessary  to  the  nation's  prosperity, 
for  he  declares  that  they  play  an  important  part  in 
the  maintenance  of  prosperity,  and  he  charges  that 
I  would  "extirpate  and  destroy"  business  in  ex 
tirpating  and  destroying  the  principle  of  private 
monopoly.  Surely,  his  study  of  the  trust  question 
has  been  very  superficial,  if  he  sees  danger  in  the 
restoration  of  a  reign  of  competition. 


136  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

Let  us  take  an  illustration:  Suppose  the  Demo 
crats  succeed  in  the  enactment  of  a  law  in  har 
mony  with  the  Democratic  platform — a  law  requir 
ing  every  corporation  to  take  out  a  federal  license 
before  it  is  permitted  to  control  twenty-five  per 
cent,  of  the  business  in  which  it  is  engaged.  Would 
this  " extirpate  and  destroy"  the  business  of  the 
country?  As  already  stated,  but  a  very  small  per 
cent,  of  the  corporations  would  be  affected  by  the 
law,  and  those  affected  would  be  the  ones  that  have 
been  giving  the  officers  of  the  law  so  much  trouble 
during  the  last  eighteen  years.  As  the  licensed  cor 
poration  increased  its  business  from  twenty-five  per 
cent,  to  fifty  per  cent.,  it  would  be  under  the  watch 
ful  eye  of  the  Government,  would  be  compelled  to 
make  such  reports  as  the  Government  required, 
would  be  prohibited  from  watering  its  stock,  and 
would  be  required  to  sell  to  all  customers  upon  the 
same  terms,  due  allowance  being  made  for  cost  of 
transportation.  Would  it  " extirpate  and  destroy" 
business  to  require  the  licensed  corporations  to  do 
business  on  an  honest  basis  and  to  be  reasonable 
in  their  business  methods?  Would  not  the  benefit 
accruing  to  the  ninety-nine  small  corporations  thus 
protected  from  conscienceless  methods  be  enough  to 
offset  any  evil  effects  that  might  follow  from  such 
restraint  of  a  few  big  corporations  ?  Is  business  so 
dependent  upon  dishonesty  and  unfairness  that  it 
would  be  "extirpated  and  destroyed"  if  morals 
were  introduced  into  it  ? 

When  the  licensed  corporation  reached  a  point 
where  it  controlled  one-half  of  the  business  in  which 
it  was  engaged,  it  would,  according  to  the  Demo- 


THE  TRUST  QUESTION  137 

cratic  plan,  have  to  stop  expanding.  Would  it  * '  ex 
tirpate  and  destroy"  business  to  put  this  limitation 
upon  the  greed  of  a  few  corporations?  Surely  our 
plan  could  not  injuriously  affect  corporations  that 
might  hereafter  seek  to  establish  a  monopoly. 

But  possibly  Mr.  Taft  thinks  that  it  would  "  ex 
tirpate  and  destroy"  business  to  apply  the  plan  to 
existing  monopolies.  Let  us  see :  Suppose  we  have 
a  corporation  now  controlling  seventy-five  per  cent, 
of  the  output  of  the  article  in  which  it  deals,  and 
through  this  control,  regulating  the  price  and  the 
terms  of  sale.  How  would  the  Democratic  plan  af 
fect  it?  A  date  would  be  fixt  at  which  the  law 
would  take  effect,  and  on  or  before  that  date  the 
corporation  would  be  required  to  apply  for  a  li 
cense.  The  evidence  would  show  that  it  controlled 
a  larger  proportion  of  the  product  than  the  law 
permitted,  and  it  would  be  compelled  to  sell  off 
enough  of  its  plants  to  reduce  its  output  to  fifty 
per  cent,  of  the  total  product.  It  could  then  com 
ply  with  the  law,  obtain  its  license,  and  proceed  to 
carry  on  its  business  in  accordance  with  the  law. 
Would  it  ' '  extirpate  and  destroy ' '  business  to  com 
pel  such  a  corporation  to  dispose  of  enough  of  its 
plants  to  reduce  its  production  to  fifty  per  cent? 
The  people  would  still  need  the  article  which  it  pro 
duced,  and  the  plants  which  it  was  compelled  to 
sell  would  become  independent  plants  competing 
with  it.  This  competition  would  reduce  prices,  and 
the  reduced  prices  would  increase  the  demand  for 
the  article,  and  this  increased  demand  would  stimu 
late  the  building  of  more  factories  and  give  a  larger 
employment  to  labor.  The  restoration  of  compe- 


II  10 


138  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

tition  in  that  industry,  instead  of  '  *  extirpating  and 
destroying"  the  industry,  would  revive  and  en 
large  it.  A  part  of  the  benefit  would  go  to  the 
consumers  in  the  form  of  a  cheaper  product  and  a 
better  product,  part  would  go  to  the  producer  of 
raw  material  in  the  form  of  a  better  price,  and 
part  would  go  to  the  wage-earners  in  the  form  of 
better  wages.  The  only  persons  to  lose  would  be 
the  trust  magnates,  who  would  no  longer  be  able 
to  collect  dividends  on  watered  stock  by  controlling 
the  market.  When  the  subject  is  analyzed  it  will 
be  seen  that  Mr.  Taft  must  either  be  in  darkness 
as  to  the  remedy  and  its  effect,  or  he  must  be 
opposed  to  the  restoration  of  competition. 

I  have  quoted  and  requoted  Mr.  Taft's  language 
because  I  want  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  those 
who  listen  to  me  the  absurdity  of  the  objection 
which  he  raises  to  the  Democratic  plan  of  extermi 
nating  monopolies.    He  fails  to  distinguish  between 
the  honest  business  that  makes  a  country  prosper 
ous,  and  the  brigandage  practised  by  private  mo 
nopolies.  The  people  have  been  robbed  by  the  trusts 
(  to  the  extent  of  hundreds  of  millions  a  year,  and 
::  if  Mr.  Taft  is  not  yet  conscious  of  what  is  going 
I  on,  and  not  yet  aroused  to  the  iniquity  of  these 
trusts,  how  can  the  country  hope  for  relief  through 
his  election? 

The  Democratic  party  is  the  defender  of  com 
petition  and  the  only  great  party  which  is  seeking 
to  restore  competition.  Mr.  Taft  has,  in  the  dis 
cussion  of  this  question,  employed  harsh  words  in 
stead  of  argument.  The  word  * i  socialistic ' '  is  hurled 
at  the  Democratic  party  and  the  Democratic  plat- 


THE  TRUST  QUESTION  139 

form.  Now,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  Mr.  Taft's 
party  and  not  the  Democratic  party  which  has 
given  encouragement  to  socialism.  While  profess 
ing  to  abhor  socialism,  the  Republican  party  has 
gone  half  way  toward  socialism  in  indorsing  its 
fundamental  principle.  The  socialist  bases  his  con 
tention  on  the  theory  that  competition  is  bad,  and 
that  an  economic  advance  is  to  be  found  in  monop 
oly.  The  socialist,  however,  wants  the  public  to 
have  the  benefit  of  the  monopoly  and,  therefore, 
favors  Government  ownership  and  operation  of  all 
the  means  of  production  and  distribution. 

The  Republican  party  has  gone  almost  as  far  as 
the  Socialist  party  in  th<?  economic  defense  of  the 
monopoly,  but  it  permits  the  benefits  of  monopoly 
to  be  enjoyed  by  a  comparatively  few  men,  who 
have  secured  a  dominant  iniiuence  in  the  Govern 
ment.  I  beg  to  call  Mr.  Taft's  attention  to  the  fact 
that  the  Republican  party  has  stimulated  the  growth 
of  socialism  in  two  ways:  First,  by  the  indorse 
ment  that  it  has  given  to  the  theory  that  trusts 
are  a  natural  and  necessary  outgrowth  of  our  eco 
nomic  conditions,  and,  second,  by  permitting  the 
development  of  abuses  which  have  been  charged 
against  individualism.  If  he  will  examine  the  vote 
published  in  the  World  Almanac,  he  will  find  that 
in  1900  the  Republicans  polled  7,208,244  votes  and 
that  the  Socialists  polled  but  85,991 ;  in  the  same 
almanac,  he  will  find  that  in  1904  the  Republicans 
cast  7,625,489  votes  and  the  Socialists  402,286.  Not 
withstanding  the  fact  that  the  Republicans  have 
boasted  of  their  last  national  victory,  their  party 
polled  but  417,000  more  votes  that  year  than  four 


140  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

years  before.  This  scarcely  more  than  covered  the 
natural  increase  in  the  Republican  portion  of  the 
population,  while  the  Socialist  vote  increased  more 
than  three  hundred  per  cent.,  and  the  increase  in 
the  number  of  votes  was  almost  as  great  as  the 
increase  in  Republican  votes. 

The  Republican  leaders  have  been  in  the  habit 
of  sneering  at  the  Socialists,  while  blindly  indiffer 
ent  to«the  causes  that  have  contributed  to  the  growth 
of  socialism.  The  Democrats  recognize  that  Social 
ists  are  honestly  seeking  a  remedy  for  the  "  known 
abuses"  admitted  by  Secretary  Taft.  Democrats 
dissent  from  the  remedy  proposed  by  the  Socialists, 
believing  that  Socialists  are  mistaken  and  that  the 
Democratic  remedy  is  better,  but  it  is  tims  for 
thoughtful  people  to  recognize  that  individualism 
can  only  be  retained  and  safeguarded  by  remedial 
legislation  which  will  remove  the  abuses  which  have 
been  allowed  to  fasten  themselves  upon  the  coun 
try.  The  Democratic  party,  believing  in  individ 
ualism,  addresses  itself  earnestly  to  these  abuses, 
and  instead  of  ridiculing  and  maligning  the  Social 
ists,  invites  them,  as  it  does  the  Republicans,  to  ex 
amine  the  Democratic  platform  and  the  remedies 
proposed  therein.  It  submits  its  plans  to  the  honest 
citizenship  of  the  country,  without  regard  to  sec 
tion  or  party. 

In  my  notification  speech  I  called  attention  to 
three  demands  made  by  our  party.  It  asks,  first, 
that  the  Government  shall  be  taken  out  of  the  hands 
of  special  interests,  and  restored  to  the  people  as 
a  whole;  it  adds,  second,  for  honesty  in  elections 
and  publicity  in  regard  to  campaign  funds,  that  the 


THE  TRUST  QUESTION  141 

people  may  freely  choose  representatives  in  sym 
pathy  with  them  and  pledged  to  guard  their  inter 
ests;  it  asks,  third,  for  such  a  modification  of  our 
Governmental  methods  as  will  make  the  Senate  an 
elective  body,  and  place  the  control  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  in  the  hands  of  a  majority  of  its 
members.  A  few  days  ago,  in  discussing  the  tariff 
question,  I  dwelt  upon  the  fourth  demand  made  by 
our  party,  namely,  that  taxation  be  just,  that  the 
revenue  laws  be  made  for  the  purpose  of  raising 
revenue  and  not  for  the  enrichment  of  a  few  at 
the  expense  of  the  many,  and  that  the  tariff  law 
be  supplemented  by  an  income  tax  which  will  more 
nearly  equalize  the  Government's  burdens.  Today 
I  present  another  demand  made  in  our  party  plat 
form — the  demand  that  the  grip  of  the  trusts  be 
broken,  that  competition  be  restored  and  that  the 
door  of  opportunity  be  opened  to  the  business  men 
and  the  toilers  of  the  land. 

Industrial  independence  is  necessary  to  political 
independence.  The  free  exercise  of  the  rights  of 
citizenship  is  impossible  when  a  few  men  control 
the  industries  in  which  millions  are  employed.  God 
forbid  that  we  should  compel  the  wa-ge-earners  of 
the  nation  to  address  their  petitions  to  trust  mag 
nates,  and  ask  for  their  daily  bread.  Already  we 
have  seen  how  prone  the  monopolist  is  to  make  em 
ployment  depend  upon  the  willingness  of  the  em 
ploye  to  prostitute  his  ballot  to  the  service  of  his 
corporate  master. 

This  question  should  be  settled  now;  we  cannot 
afford  to  bequeath  it  as  a  legacy  of  wo  to  a  suc 
ceeding  generation.  The  conscience  of  the  people 


142  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

is  already  awakened,  and  the  conscience  is  the 
most  potent  force  of  which  man  has  knowledge. 
Where  law  makes  one  righteous,  conscience  controls 
a  hundred ;  where  one  is  kept  from  wrong-doing  by 
fear  of  prison  doors,  a  thousand  are  restrained  by 
those  invisible  walls  which  conscience  rears  about 
us — barriers  which  are  stronger  than  walls  of  gran 
ite.  It  is  upon  the  conscience  that  human  institu 
tions  rest,  and  without  a  stirring  of  the  conscience 
no  great  reform  is  possible.  To  a  national  con 
science  already  aroused  we  appeal,  with  the  pledge 
that  a  Democratic  victory  will  mean  the  ringing  out 
of  industrial  despotism  and  the  ringing  in  of  a  new 
era  in  which  business  will  be  built  upon  its  merits, 
and  in  which  men  will  succeed,  not  in  proportion 
to  the  coercion  they  may  be  able  to  practise,  but  in 
proportion  to  their  industry,  their  ability  and  their 
fidelity. 


X 
GUARANTEED   DEPOSITS 

Delivered  in  Topeka,  Kan.,  on  Aug.  27,  1908. 

WHY  not  make  the  depositor  secure?  The 
United  States  Government  requires  the 
deposit  of  specific  security  when  it  en 
trusts  money  to  a  national  bank,  altho  it  can  ex 
amine  the  bank  at  any  time;  the  State  requires 
security  when  it  deposits  money  in  a  bank;  the 
county  requires  security  and  the  city  requires  se 
curity;  even  the  banks  require  security  from  the 
officials  who  handle  money.  Why  should  the  de 
positor  be  left  to  take  his  chances? 

Not  only  is  the  depositor  without  protection,  but 
the  security  given  to  nation,  state,  county  and  city 
lessens  his  security.  They  are  preferred  creditors ; 
they  have  a  mortgage  on  the  gilt-edged  assets  and 
the  depositor  must  get  along  as  best  he  can  with 
what  remains.  Why  are  the  interests  of  depositors 
thus  neglected  ? 

A  bank  asks  deposits  on  the  theory  that  the  de 
positor  is  sure  of  the  return  of  his  money,  and  the 
laws  ought  to  make  the  facts  conform  to  the  theory. 
The  depositor,  the  community  and  the  banker  him 
self  will  be  benefited  by  legislation  which  will  give 
to  every  depositor  the  assurance  that  that  which  is 
committed  to  the  keeping  of  the  bank  will  be  avail- 

(143) 


144  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

able  to  meet  his  needs  at  any  time.  Such  is  not 
the  case  to-day,  for  while  all  banks  are  reasonably 
secure,  they  are  not  absolutely  so.  This  statement 
can  be  verified  in  several  ways. 

First :  The  President  has  advocated  a  postal  sav 
ings  bank,  and  his  postmaster-general,  in  presenting 
an  argument  in  its  favor,  pointed  out  that  many 
millions  are  sent  to  European  savings  banks  every 
year  by  Americans  of  foreign  birth,  who  prefer  to 
trust  the  state  institutions  of  the  nations  beyond 
the  sea  rather  than  the  private  banking  institutions 
here. 

Second :  It  is  known  that  a  considerable  amount 
of  money  is  in  hiding,  the  amount  increasing  with 
the  approach  of  a  panic  or  business  depression.  This 
money  is  not  only  withdrawn  from  active  use,  but  is 
likely  to  be  withdrawn  just  at  the  time  when  money 
is  most  needed  and  when  the  withdrawal  will  in 
crease  the  financial  disturbance.  It  is  impossible 
to  reason  with  fear;  it  is  futile  to  tell  men  that 
they  will  probably  get  their  money.  The  moment 
the  depositors  suspect  a  bank,  they  hasten  to  de 
stroy  its  solvency.  Distrust,  and  distrust  alone, 
can  explain  the  hiding  of  money. 

Third :  The  increase  in  the  issue  of  money  orders, 
payable  to  the  order  of  the  purchaser,  is  another 
evidence  that  people  are  seeking  greater  security 
for  their  money.  The  banks  will  pay*  an  interest 
upon  deposits,  and  yet  those  who  buy  money  orders 
prefer  to  lose  the  interest  and,  in  addition  to  that, 
pay  the  price  of  the  money  order  to  secure  the 
Government's  guaranty. 

Fourth :  National  banks  confess  that  their  banks 


GUARANTEED  DEPOSITS  145 

are  not  secure  when  they  oppose  the  guaranty  of 
State  banks  on  the  ground  that  it  would  lessen  the 
deposits  in  national  banks ;  and  State  bankers  con 
fess  that  their  banks  are  not  secure  when  they  op 
pose  a  national  guaranty  system  on  the  ground  that 
it  will  draw  deposits  away  from  State  banks.  If 
you  want  to  find  whether  banks  are  absolutely  se 
cure,  ask  the  directors  to  give  you  their  personal 
note  to  secure  your  deposit  and  you  will  learn  that 
they  will  not  bear  the  risk  which  they  ask  you  to 
bear. 

Fifth:  The  experience  of  Oklahoma  furnished 
conclusive  proof  that  depositors  do  not  feel  that 
their  money  is  safe  in  unsecured  banks.  On  the 
17th  of  December,  1907,  the  Oklahoma  Legislature 
enacted  a  depositors '  guaranty  law,  which  became 
operative  February  4th,  1908.  By  the  provisions 
of  this  law,  all  State  banks,  and  as  many  National 
banks  as  desire  to  avail  themselves  of  the  law,  are 
taxed  one  per  cent,  on  their  deposits,  and  the  money 
thus  collected  is  put  into  a  guaranty  fund.  The 
banking  board  is  authorized  to  make  additional  as 
sessments  from  time  to  time  to  keep  the  fund  up 
to  this  amount,  and  is  directed  to  take  possession 
of  any  insolvent  bank,  pay  the  depositors  in  full, 
and  reimburse  the  fund  by  collecting  the  assets  of 
the  failed  bank.  Five  hundred  and  fifty-five  banks, 
including  fifty-four  National  banks,  had  come  under 
the  provisions  of  this  law  on  the  14th  of  last  May, 
leaving  but  255  unsecured  banks  (all  National)  in 
the  State.  Statements  are  made  by  the  banks  in 
December  and  May.  Between  these  periods  the  se 
cured  banks  gained  in  deposits  $4,237,765.22,  while 


146  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

the  unsecured  banks,  all  National,  showed  a  decrease 
in  deposits  of  $1,101,807.86.  A  large  part  of  this 
increase  represented  money  brought  from  hiding  or 
from  without  the  State,  but  the  decrease  in  the  un 
secured  banks  can  only  be  explained  in  one  way. 
A  large  number  of  depositors  withdrew  their  money 
from  the  unsecured  banks,  and  deposited  it  in  the 
secured  banks,  and  this,  too,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
in  order  to  prevent  withdrawals,  the  unsecured 
banks,  in  some  instances,  offered  a  higher  rate  of 
interest  than  the  secured  banks  were  permitted  to 
pay ;  and  it  must  be  remembered  also  that  the  banks 
which  suffered  a  loss  of  deposits  were  all  National 
banks.  And  to  make  it  certain  that  the  difference 
was  caused  by  the  guaranty  law,  the  secured  Na 
tional  banks  gained,  while  the  unsecured  banks  lost. 
While  the  deposits  were  increasing  in  the  guaran 
teed  banks  of  Oklahoma,  they  were  failing  in  the 
State  banks  and  trust  companies  of  Kansas — the 
decrease  being  $1,153,026.27  between  March  31st 
and  June  13th. 

No  amount  of  criticism  of  the  timid  depositor  can 
change  the  facts;  the  people  who  deposit  money 
Avant  more  security  than  the  laws  at  present  give 
them.  They  will  change  banks  to  get  more  security, 
and,  if  necessary,  they  will  send  their  money  to  an 
other  State. 

For  many  years  efforts  have  been  made  in  Con 
gress  and  in  the  various  States  to  secure  a  law 
guaranteeing  deposits,  but  the  influence  of  the  great 
banking  institutions  has  been  sufficient  to  prevent 
action.  Last  fall,  however,  when  the  banks,  by  a 
concerted  action,  suspended  payments  on  checks, 


GUARANTEED  DEPOSITS  147 

the  depositors  were  everywhere  brought  to  a  realiza 
tion  of  the  fact  that  their  deposits  are,  in  fact, 
loans,  payable  on  demand  under  ordinary  circum 
stances,  but  payable  at  the  will  of  the  bank  in  emer 
gencies.  The  depositors  suffered  a  considerable  loss 
during  the  suspension  of  payments,  and  they  have 
not  forgotten  the  lesson  which  they  then  learned. 
The  Democratic  party,  being  more  free  than  the  Re 
publican  party  to  respond  to  the  needs  of  the  masses 
of  the  people,  inserted  the  following  plank  in  its 
national  platform : 

"We  pledge  ourselves  to  legislation  by  which  the  national 
banks  shall  be  required  to  establish  a  guaranty  fund  for  the 
prompt  payment  of  the  depositors  of  any  insolvent  national 
bank,  under  an  equitable  system  which  shall  be  available 
to  all  State  banking  institutions  wishing  to  use  it." 

This  principle  has  been  applied  in  Oklahoma  and 
the  results  have  been  very  satisfactory.  The  aver 
age  annual  loss  to  depositors  in  National  banks  dur 
ing  the  last  forty  years  has  been  less  than  one-tenth 
of  one  per  cent,  of  the  deposits,  and  the  loss  to  the 
fund  in  Oklahoma,  under  better  regulations  and 
restrictions,  has  been  absolutely  nothing  during 
the  six  months  in  which  the  law  has  been  in  opera 
tion. 

The  Republican  platform  is  silent  on  the  subject, 
and  the  Republican  candidate  not  only  does  not  ad 
vocate  a  compulsory  system,  but  specifically  and  em 
phatically  opposes  it.  He  says: 

"The  democratic  platform  recommends  a  tax  upon  na 
tional  banks  and  upon  such  State  banks  as  may  come  in, 
in  the  nature  of  enforced  insurance  to  raise  a  guaranty 
fund  to  pay  the  depositors  of  any  bank  which  fails." 


148  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

And  then  he  questions  the  right  of  the  Govern 
ment  to  enact  such  a  law,  saying : 

"Plow  State  banks  can  be  included  in  such  a  scheme 
under  the  constitution  is  left  in  the  twilight  zone  of  State 
rights  and  federalism  so  frequently  dimming  the  meaning 
and  purpose  of  the  promises  of  the  platform.  If  they  come 
in  under  such  a  system,  they  must  necessarily  be  brought 
within  the  closest  national  control,  and  so  they  must  really 
cease  to  be  State  banks  and  become  national  banks." 

His  solicitude  for  the  State  bank  will  hardly  im 
press  the  country,  for  he  is  quite  indifferent  to 
States  and  their  reserved  rights  when  he  deals  with 
other  subjects.  When  Congress  is  in  the  control  of 
those  who  want  to  legislate  for  the  whole  people 
rather  than  for  the  few,  it  will  not  be  difficult  to 
frame  a  law  under  which  State  banks  can  avail 
themselves  of  the  advantages  of  a  federal  law  guar 
anteeing  the  deposits  of  National  banks,  just  as  it 
was  easy  in  Oklahoma  to  frame  a  law  which  per 
mitted  National  banks  to  take  advantage  of  the 
State  guaranty  system.  It  will  also  be  easy  to 
enact  a  federal  law  which  will  permit  National 
banks  to  avail  themselves  of  State  guaranty  systems 
until  a  National  system  can  be  secured.  Attorney- 
General  Bonaparte 's  ruling,  whether  it  correctly  in 
terprets  the  law  or  not,  would  not  bring  such  con 
sternation  as  it  does  if  the  Republican  candidate  fa 
vored  a  law  allowing  National  banks  to  take  ad 
vantage  of  State  systems  for  the  protection  of  de 
positors,  but  Mr.  Taft's  hostility  to  all  guaranty 
systems  is  shown  in  the  objection  which  he  offers : 

"The  proposition  is  to  tax  the  honest  and  prudent  banker 
to  make  up  for  the  dishonesty  and  imprudence  of  others.  No 
one  can  foresee  the  burden  which,  under  this  system,  would 
be  imposed  upon  the  sound  and  conservative  bankers  of  the 


GUARANTEED  DEPOSITS  149 

country  by  this  obligation  to  make  good  the  losses  caused  by 
the  reckless,  speculative  and  dishonest  men,  who  would  be 
enabled  to  secure  deposits  under  such  a  system  on  the  faith 
of  the  proposed  insurance;  as  in  its  present  shape,  the  pro 
posal  would  remove  all  safeguards  against  recklessness  in 
banking,  and  the  chief,  and,  in  the  end,  probably  the  only, 
benefit  would  accrue  to  the  speculator,  who  would  be  de 
lighted  to  enter  the  banking  business  when  it  was  certain 
that  he  could  enjoy  any  profit  that  would  accrue,  while  the 
risk  would  have  to  be  assumed  by  his  honest  and  hard 
working  fellow." 

He  even  pictures  dire  disaster  and  declares  that 
' '  if  the  proposal  were  adopted  exactly  as  the  Demo 
cratic  platform  suggests,  it  would  bring  the  whole 
banking  system  of  the  country  down  in  ruin. ' ' 

As  an  afterthought,  he  suggests  that  a  voluntary 
system  might  be  tolerated,  but  as  his  objections  to 
a  compulsory  system  apply  just  as  well  to  a  volun 
tary  system  we  may  fairly  count  him  against  all 
legislation  which  has  for  its  object  the  guaranty  of 
depositors. 

As  Mr.  Taft's  argument  is  that  presented  by  the 
big  banks  which  put  their  own  selfish  interests 
above  the  welfare  of  the  depositors  and  the  safety 
of  the  community,  it  is  worth  while  to  answer  the 
several  propositions  which  he  advances. 

Let  us  take  the  first  sentence,  that  "the  honest 
and  prudent  banker  would  be  taxed  to  make  up  for 
the  dishonesty  and  imprudence  of  others. "  Is  not 
this  true  of  all  restrictions  on  banking?  Does  not 
the  honest  and  prudent  banker,  under  existing  laws, 
suffer  in  order  that  the  depositor  may  be  protected 
from  the  dishonest  and  imprudent?  If  we  had  no 
banking  laws  at  all,  and  banking  was  done  by  pri 
vate  individuals,  the  honest  and  prudent  banker 
would  save  the  money  that  he  now  pays  for  en- 


150  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

forced  examinations  of  his  bank,  and  he  could  at 
times  make  interest  on  a  part  of  the  money  which 
he  is  now  required  to  keep  in  his  vault  as  a  rigid 
reserve.  But  because  some  bankers  are  not  prudent, 
these  laws  place  a  burden  upon  the  good  as  well  as 
upon  the  bad,  it  being  difficult  to  distinguish  the 
prudent  banker  from  the  imprudent  one  until  a 
bank  actually  fails. 

In  like  manner  it  might  be  said  that  if  all  people 
were  careful  about  fire,  fire  insurance  rates  need  not 
be  as  high  as  they  are,  but  the  careful  have  to  pay 
higher  rates  than  they  should  because  some  are  not 
careful.  Life  insurance  rates  are  higher  than  would 
be  necessary  to  cover  the  actual  risk  if  everybody 
took  care  of  his  health,  and  here,  too,  the  cautious 
are  burdened  because  some  are  careless  of  their 
health.  All  insurance  is  open  to  the  same  objection, 
and  yet  insurance  of  all  forms  is  growing,  and  the 
insurance  of  depositors  is  growing  in  popularity 
more  rapidly  than  any  other  form  of  insurance — 
and,  I  may  add,  it  yields  the  largest  return  on  the 
investment. 

Mr.  Taft  complains  that  "no  one  can  foresee  the 
burden  which,  under  this  system,  would  be  imposed 
upon  the  sound  and  conservative  bankers  of  the 
country  by  this  obligation  to  make  good  the  losses 
caused  by  the  reckless,  speculative  and  dishonest 
men,"  etc.  We  have  the  past  to  guide  us,  and  we 
have  reason  to  believe  that  the  loss  will  be  less  in 
the  future  than  in  the  past,  because  when  banks  be 
come  mutually  responsible  for  each  other's  deposits 
they  will  be  sufficiently  interested  in  each  other  to 
favor  better  regulation  and  greater  restrictions. 


GUARANTEED  DEPOSITS  151 

What  has  Mr.  Taft  done  to  protect  depositors 
from  recklessness  and  speculation?  While  he  re 
fuses  to  protect  depositors,  he  praises  the  Aldrich- 
Vreeland  law,  which  invites  speculation  and  stock 
jobbing.  In  declaring  that  the  system  proposed  by 
the  Democrats  "would  remove  all  safeguards 
against  recklessness  in  banking,"  Mr.  Taft  betrays 
an  ignorance  of  the  subject,  for  the  plan  does  not 
propose  the  removal  of  any  safeguards.  In  fact,  it 
contemplates  better  regulations  of  the  banks,  and 
Oklahoma  has  already  made  the  banking  regulations 
more  strict. 

He  declares  that  "the  only  benefit  would  accrue 
to  the  speculator,  who  would  be  delighted  to  enter 
the  banking  business  when  it  was  certain  that  he 
could  enjoy  any  profit  that  would  accrue,  while  the 
risk  would  have  to  be  assumed  by  his  honest  and 
hard-working  fellow. ' '  The  present  banking  law  re 
quires  that  a  certain  amount  of  capital  shall  be  in 
vested  in  the  business,  and  that  law  would  still 
stand.  To  entor  the  banking  business,  therefore,  a 
man  would  either  have  to  have  the  capital  himself 
or  secure  the  confidence  of  men  who  had  the  capital. 
And  this  capital,  together  with  the  100  per  cent, 
liability,  would  be  a  guaranty  that  the  stockholders 
would  not  intentionally  select  careless  officials.  Why 
would  a  "speculator"  be  "delighted  to  enter  the 
banking  business ' '  under  the  guaranty  system  ?  He 
is  not  relieved  from  pecuniary  obligation,  nor  is  he 
relieved  from  criminal  liability.  He  would  have 
nothing  to  gain  by  carelessness,  nor  would  the  stock 
holders  have  anything  to  gain  by  indifference. 
The  chief  cause  of  bank  failures  is  the  making  of 


152  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

excessive  loans  to  directors  or  officials  of  the  bank. 
This  is  the  fruitful  cause  of  disaster,  and  it  has 
been  impossible  to  secure  legislation  protecting 
banks  from  their  own  officials  and  directors.  "Why  ? 
Because  there  has  been  no  mutual  responsibility. 
When  all  banks  become  liable  for  the  deposits  of 
each,  the  stockholders  will  insist  upon  the  enact 
ment  of  a  law  making  it  a  criminal  offense  for  a 
bank  official  to  loan  more  than  the  prescribed 
amount  to  one  individual.  At  present  we  have  a 
law  prohibiting  the  loaning  of  more  than  one-tenth 
of  the  capital  and  surplus  to  one  person  or  corpora 
tion,  but  the  law  is  only  directory.  Of  course,  the 
comptroller  can  suspend  a  bank  if  it  violates  the 
law,  but  the  law  is  not  enforced,  because  the  en 
forcement  of  such  a  law  would  throw  the  punish 
ment  upon  innocent  stockholders  and  upon  the  com 
munity,  since  the  suspension  of  a  bank  inflicts  a 
great  loss  upon  stockholders  and  disturbs  the  busi 
ness  of  the  city  or  town  in  which  the  bank  is  lo 
cated. 

The  law  should  make  it  a  criminal  offense  to  loan 
more  than  the  prescribed  amount  to  one  person, 
and  we  would  probably  be  able  to  secure  the  passage 
of  a  law  prohibiting  market  speculation  by  bank 
officials. 

The  Oklahoma  plan  is  working  satisfactorily.  A 
bank  recently  failed  in  Oklahoma;  within  forty- 
eight  minutes  after  the  notice  of  suspension,  the 
officer  in  charge  had  authority  to  pay  all  depositors, 
and  then  the  banking  board  proceeded  to  collect  the 
assets  of  the  bank  and  to  prosecute  the  officials  crim 
inally.  When  the  business  was  closed  up,  the  stock- 


GUARANTEED  DEPOSITS  153 

holders  passed  a  resolution  thanking  the  State  board 
for  its  prompt  action,  the  action  of  the  board  being 
a  protection  to  the  stockholders,  as  well  as  to  the 
depositors  and  to  the  public  generally. 

Compare  this  failure  under  the  guaranty  system 
with  a  failure  where  there  is  no  guaranty.  In  Okla 
homa  the  bank  commissioner  telephoned  the  farmers 
to  come  in  and  get  their  money,  and  the  answer 
was :  "I  am  busy  to-day  with  my  crop  ;  I  will  be  in 
in  a  day  or  two." 

In  Cleveland,  Ohio,  a  bank  failed  about  the  same 
time,  and  the  papers  announced  "twelve  hundred 
infuriated  Italians  stormed  the  closed  doors  of  the 
busted  banking  house  of  Costan  Liopea,  on  Orange 
street,  to-day.  The  police  drove  the  crowd  back." 

An  objection  is  sometimes  made  to  the  guaranty 
law  that  a  "new  bank  would  start  up  across  the 
street,"  and,  being  able  to  promise  its  depositors 
absolute  security  through  the  guaranty  law,  could 
draw  the  deposits  away  from  conservatively  man 
aged  banks  by  offering  a  higher  rate  of  interest 
than  the  latter  could  pay.  This  objection  is  urged 
as  if  it  were  an  unanswerable  one.  But  let  us  see 
how  easily  it  can  be  met.  Since  the  law  makes  all 
of  the  banks  liable  for  the  obligations  of  each  bank, 
the  law  should  prohibit  any  abuse  of  this  security 
by  any  bank,  and  in  Oklahoma  the  banking  board 
has  already  fixt  the  rate  of  interest  that  can  be  paid 
to  depositors.  According  to  the  rules  of  the  bank 
ing  board,  no  bank  is  permitted  to  pay  more  than 
three  per  cent,  on  short-time  deposits  or  more  than 
four  per  cent,  on  time  deposits  running  for  six 

months  or  more, 
ii  11 


154  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

It  has  also  been  urged  as  an  objection  that  under 
the  guaranty  system  a  big  bank  would  have  no  ad 
vantage  over  a  little  bank.  Even  if  this  argument 
were  sound,  it  could  not  weigh  against  the  advan 
tages  of  the  system,  for  banks  are  made  for  the  peo 
ple,  not  the  people  for  the  banks.  While  there  are 
advantages  in  having  big  banks,  the  advantages  are 
not  sufficient  to  justify  the  jeopardizing  of  the  de 
positor  or  of  the  business  interests  of  a  community. 

But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  big  bank  would  still 
have  several  advantages  over  the  small  one.  In  the 
first  place,  it  could  make  larger  loans  than  the  small 
bank.  For  instance,  a  bank  with  $1,000,000  capital 
and  surplus  could,  as  at  present,  loan  $100,000  to 
one  person,  while  a  bank  with  $100,000  capital  and 
surplus  could  only  loan  $10,000  to  one  person.  This 
advantage  would  in  itself  draw  to  the  large  bank 
the  large  deposits  and  the  men  doing  business  upon 
a  large  scale,  for  deposits  follow  accommodations. 

Then,  too,  there  is  a  certain  business  advantage 
in  depositing  with  a  big  bank.  It  is  worth  some 
thing  to  be  able  to  refer  to  a  big  bank  when  one's 
financial  standing  is  being  investigated,  and  worth 
still  more  to  have  the  advice  of  a  man  of  large  busi 
ness  experience  when  business  enterprises  are  being 
considered. 

Besides  these,  there  is  a  social  advantage  in  being 
on  good  terms  with  the  men  who  are  prominent  in 
the  banking  world.  Surely  the  big  bank's  prestige 
will  be  worth  enough  to  it  under  the  guaranty  sys 
tem;  it  should  not  begrudge  the  smaller  banks  the 
advantage  which  the  guaranty  of  deposits  will  bring 
to  them. 


GUARANTEED  DEPOSITS  155 

I  cannot  pass  from  this  subject  without  referring 
to  the  fact  that  the  big  bank  needs  the  guaranty  as 
well  as  the  little  one,  for  big  banks  fail  as  well  as 
small  banks,  and  the  bigger  the  bank  the  greater  the 
calamity  to  the  community  when  it  fails.  No  bank 
is  so  big  as  to  be  absolutely  beyond  danger,  and  a 
community  needs  protection  against  the  big  banks' 
failure  even  more  than  against  the  failure  of  the 
small  banks. 

It  has  sometimes  been  objected  that  the  guaranty 
system  would  bring  into  the  banking  business  a 
lower  class  of  men  and  reduce  the  average  in  char 
acter.  On  the  contrary,  the  guaranty  of  deposits, 
I  submit,  would,  if  it  made  any  difference  in  this 
respect,  bring  into  the  banking  business  a  better 
class  of  men  and  raise,  if  that  is  possible,  the  aver 
age  of  character.  It  is  not  to  a  man's  discredit 
that  he  is  not  willing  that  one  of  his  fellow  men 
should  lose  money  on  his  account.  Is  it  not  a 
mark  of  character  that  a  man  should  be  careful 
of  his  good  name  and  considerate  of  the  esteem 
of  his  fellows?  At  present  a  successful  farmer  or 
business  man  may  be  induced  to  take  stock  in  a 
bank.  It  may  be  that  his  name  is  desired  to  give 
standing  and  credit  to  the  bank,  but  such  a  man 
is  constantly  haunted  by  the  fear  that  a  bank 
official  may  be  guilty  of  criminal  conduct  which 
will  bring  the  bank  into  insolvency.  It  is  even  pos 
sible  that  the  banks  assets  may  be  entirely  dissi 
pated,  and  that  the  honest  citizen,  who  has  become 
a  stockholder,  may  either  be  compelled  to  go  beyond 
his  legal  ability  or  meet  the  bitter  criticism  of  the 
depositors  who  have  suffered  by  the  failure.  Would 


156  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

it  not  be  worth  something  to  the  stockholder,  in 
peace  of  mind,  to  know  that  the  maximum  of  his 
loss  would  be  the  value  of  his  stock  and  the  100 
per  cent,  liability,  and  that  no  depositor  could  lose 
anything?  I  am  convinced  that  the  guaranty  of 
deposits  would  not  lead  to  degeneration  in  the 
personnel  of  the  bankers. 

To  justify  a  law  guaranteeing  depositors,  it  is 
not  necessary  to  show  that  the  advantage  to  the 
bankers  would  amount  to  more  than  the  tax.  The 
examination  of  the  banks  would  continue  to  be 
made  at  the  expense  of  the  banks,  even  if  it  were 
certain  that  the  examination  was  of  no  pecuniary 
advantage  to  the  banks.  The  law  would  continue 
to  require  a  certain  amount  of  reserve  to  be  kept 
on  hand,  even  if  it  were  certain  that  such  a  law 
brought  no  pecuniary  gain  to  the  bank ;  and  so  the 
banks  ought  to  be  compelled  to  insure  their  depos 
itors  against  loss,  even  if  it  could  not  be  shown 
that  such  insurance  would  bring  a  compensating 
advantage  to  the  bank.  The  bank  charter  has  a 
value ;  if  it  were  not  valuable  the  bank  would  not 
be  organized.  The  bank  charter  is  a  gift  from  the 
people  through  the  law,  and  the  people  who  author 
ize  the  establishment  of  a  bank  have  a  right  to 
demand,  in  return,  that  the  bank  shall  keep  the 
pledge  which  it  gives  when  it  invites  deposits,  and 
make  good  its  promises  of  security  to  those  who 
deal  with  it. 

But  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  banks  will,  as  a 
rule,  gain  more  from  the  law  than  they  will  lose 
by  the  tax  imposed  by  the  law.  The  experience 
of  the  Oklahoma  banks  shows  this.  The  interest 


GUARANTEED  DEPOSITS  157 

collected  upon  the  increased  deposits  will  far  more 
than  pay  the  losses  occasioned  by  insolvency.  But 
two  Oklahoma  banks  have  failed  and  the  assets 
have  in  both  cases  been  sufficient  to  reimburse  the 
fund. 

Then,  too,  the  banks  must  remember  that  the 
question  is  not  merely  whether  depositors  shall  be 
made  secure,   but  whether   the  security   shall  be  i 
given  by  the  banks  themselves  or  by  the  Govern 
ment  through  a  postal  savings  bank. 

The  refusal  of  the  banks  to  permit  the  passage 
of  a  law  granting  security  to  depositors  is  responsi 
ble  for  the  growth  of  the  sentiment  in  favor  of  the 
Government  savings  bank,  and  the  sentiment  will 
continue  to  grow  unless  something  is  done  to  satisfy 
the  demands  of  the  people  upon  this  subject. 

The  Republican  party  proposes  the  establishment 
of  a  postal  savings  bank  system ;  the  Democratic 
party  prefers  the  guaranteed  bank  because  it  is 
better  for  the  depositor  and  better  for  the  banker — 
it  gives  the  depositor  the  security  which  he  needs 
and  yet  leaves  the  banking  business  in  the  hands 
of  the  banks.  But  the  Democratic  platform  d^- 
clares  for  "a  postal  savings  bank  IF  THE  GUAR 
ANTEED  BANK  CAN  NOT  BE  SECURED," 
and  in  November  more  than  ninety  per  cent,  of 
the  voters  will  by  their,  ballots  demand  either  the 
guaranteed  bank  or  the  postal  savings  bank.  Can 
the  financiers  prevent  the  carrying  out  of  this 
demand  ? 

The  RepublicarHrtatform  does  not  go  into  detail, 
but  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  the  postal  savings  bank 
plank  is  intended  as  an  indorsement  of  the  postal 


158  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

savings  bank  system  proposed  by  the  President 
and  Postmaster-General.  Under  this  plan  the  Fed 
eral  Government  would  invite  the  deposit  of  sav 
ings,  a  limit  being  placed  upon  the  amount  that 
each  person  of  each  family  could  deposit.  Accord 
ing  to  this  plan,  the  business  man  would  not  be 
protected,  for  he  uses  a  checking  account  instead 
of  a  savings  account ;  but  no  one  can  doubt  that  the 
successful  operation  of  a  government  savings  bank 
would  ultimately  lead  to  an  extension  of  the  plan 
until  the  government  bank  would  include  the  ordi 
nary  checking  account  and  be  open  to  deposits 
without  limit.  It  would  mean  a  long  contest  be 
tween  the  depositors  and  the  bankers,  but  a  con 
test  which  must  in  the  end  be  decided  on  the  side 
of  the  depositors.  The  bank  must  decide,  therefore, 
whether  he  will  favor  a  postal  savings  bank  which, 
in  the  absence  of  the  guaranteed  bank,  will  grow 
until  it  absorbs  the  banking  business,  or  preserve 
the  present  system  of  banking  by  giving  to  the 
people,  through  a  guaranty  law,  the  protection 
which  they  must  otherwise  find  in  a  government 
bank. 

The  Democratic  plan,  therefore,  contemplates  a 
less  radical  change  than  the  Republican  plan.  In 
his  notification  speech  Mr.  Taft  charged  the  Demo 
crats  with  being  socialistic  in  some  of  their  remedies. 
The  charge  was  not  well  founded,  but  I  might  reply 
by  charging  him  with  advocating  an  unnecessary 
extension  of  the  Government 's  sphere  of  activity  in 
the  establishment  of  the  postal  savings  bank,  when 
the  guaranteed  bank  would  answer  the  same  pur 
pose  without  any  considerable  increase  in  the  num- 


GUARANTEED  DEPOSITS  159 

her  of  Government  employes.  I  would  rather  see 
the  banks  attend  to  the  banking  business  than  to 
have  it  transferred  to  the  Government,  and  because 
I  prefer  to  have  the  banking  business  done  by  the 
banks  rather  than  by  the  Government,  I  urge  the 
guaranty  of  deposits  as  the  easiest  solution  of  our 
difficulties. 

There  are  only  20,000  banks,  while  there  are 
15,000,000  depositors,  and  I  do  not  hesitate  to  de 
clare  that  in  a  conflict  between  the  two,  the  depos 
itors  have  a  prior  claim  to  consideration.  If  we 
estimate  the  average  number  of  stockholders  of 
each  bank  at  seventy-five — and  that  is  a  liberal 
estimate — the  total  number  of  stockholders  would 
only  be  a  million  and  a  half,  or  one-tenth  as  many 
as  there  are  depositors.  The  stockholder  is  not 
compelled  to  buy  stock,  while  the  depositor  is  com 
pelled  to  use  the  banks,  both  for  his  own  sake  and 
for  the  sake  of  the  community,  for  only  by  using 
the  banks  can  he  keep  his  money  a  part  of  the 
circulating  medium.  The  guaranty  law,  therefore, 
brings  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number, 
as  well  as  to  those  who  have  the  greater  equity  upon 
their  side. 

There  is  another  reason  why  the  claim  of  the 
depositor  is  superior  to  the  claim  of  the  stockholder. 
The  stockholder  has  a  voice  in  the  selection  of  the 
bank  officials;  the  depositor  has  not.  If  any  one 
must  lose,  therefore,  as  the  result  of  bad  manage 
ment,  it  ought  to  be  the  stockholder  rather  than 
the  depositor.  And,  I  venture  to  ask,  if  the  bank 
ers  will  not  trust  each  other,  why  should  they  expect 
the  depositors  to  trust  the  banks? 


160  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

And  there  is  still  another  advantage :  By  draw 
ing  money  from  hiding  and  by  preventing  runs  on 
banks  the  guaranteed  bank  will  greatly  lessen  the 
demand  for  an  emergency  currency. 

We  are  fortunate,  however,  in  that  we  are  not 
compelled  to  choose  between  justice  to  the  depositor 
and  justice  to  the  stockholder,  for,  as  has  been 
shown  before,  the  plan  which  we  propose,  not  only 
does  justice  to  both,  but  brings  advantage  to  both. 
More  than  that,  the  plan  which  we  propose  protects 
the  banker — and  it  is  his  only  protection — against 
the  establishment  of  a  government  bank,  with  in 
definite  encroachments  upon  the  banker's  business. 
With  the  guaranteed  bank  established,  Government 
savings  banks  would  only  be  needed  in  the  towns 
and  villages  where  there  were  no  guaranteed  banks. 

If  we  had  to  choose  between  the  interests  of  the 
bank  and  the  interests  of  the  community,  we  would 
be  compelled  to  protect  the  interests  of  the  com 
munity  first ;  but  here,  too,  we  are  fortunate,  for 
we  are  not  driven  to  this  alternative.  That  which 
protects  the  community  protects  the  bank  also,  for 
when  there  are  several  banks  in  the  community, 
the  failure  of  one  often  causes  a  run  upon  the 
others,  and  the  insolvency  of  one  bank  is  such  a 
menace  to  the  solvency  of  others  that  the  solvent 
banks  often  join  together  and  assume  the  liabilities 
of  the  insolvent  one  for  their  own  protection.  As 
an  illustration  of  this,  I  point  to  the  action  of  the 
Chicago  banks  in  assuming  the  liabilities  of  the 
Walsh  banks,  at  a  heavy  loss  to  themselves. 

There  is  another  advantage  which  the  guaranty 
of  depositors  brings  to  the  banks — it  protects  the 


GUARANTEED  DEPOSITS  161 

reserves  deposited  in  other  banks.  During  the  panic 
last  fall  the  reserves  caused  the  most  of  the  trouble. 
The  small  banks  wanted  to  withdraw  their  reserves 
from  the  city  banks,  and  the  big  banks  in  the  cities 
were  not  prepared  to  meet  the  strain.  With  depos 
its  guaranteed,  there  would  be  no  runs  on  local 
banks  and  no  sudden  withdrawal  of  reserves. 

I  have  selected  the  capital  of  the  State  of  Kansas 
as  the  most  appropriate  place  for  the  delivery  of  a 
speech  upon  this  subject,  because  your  neighbor 
upon  the  south  has  been  a  pioneer  in  this  reform. 
Her  plan,  as  you  know,  has  been  such  a  signal  suc 
cess  that  deposits  have  been  drawn  across  the  line 
from  your  State  into  Oklahoma.  The  alarm  caused 
by  this  invasion  of  your  banking  territory  caused 
your  Governor  to  include  in  his  call  for  a  special 
session  a  recommendation  of  the  passage  of  a  law 
similar  to  that  of  Oklahoma.  When  the  legislature 
met,  however,  the  influence  of  the  large  banks  was 
sufficient  to  prevent  the  needed  legislation,  and 
your  State  still  suffers.  The  people  of  Kansas  have 
had  an  object  lesson;  they  know  the  necessity  for 
a  law  guaranteeing  deposits.  They  have  seen  its 
beneficent  results  in  a  sister  State ;  they  have  seen 
fifty-four  national  banks  taking  advantage  of  the 
State  system  and  reaping  a  rich  reward.  I  have 
made  inquiry  and  find  that  many  Kansas  bankers 
favor  the  adoption  of  a  guaranty  system — three- 
fourths  of  those  who  have  replied  have  declared  for 
the  guaranteed  bank.  They  have  heard  the  echo 
of  the  blow  that  has  been  struck  at  the  national 
banks  of  Oklahoma  by  the  attorney-general 's  ruling, 
which  denies  to  such  banks  the  right  to  share  in  the 


162  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

benefits  of  the  State  guaranty  system — that  echo 
being  the  surrender  of  charters  by  national  banks 
which  prefer  to  become  State  banks  rather*  than 
surrender  the  benefits  of  the  guaranty  system.  Four 
national  banks  have  surrendered  their  charters  and 
are  now  conducted  as  State  banks,  while  sixteen 
more  have  applied  for  State  charters.  Your  people 
have  also  seen  how  the  influence  of  a  few  big  banks, 
concentrated  upon  a  legislature,  can  defeat  the 
wishes  of  the  smaller  banks  and  the  desire  of  the 
depositors  all  over  the  State. 

I  submit  that  in  this  effort  to  make  all  banks 
secure,  the  Democratic  party  is  the  champion  of 
the  farmer,  the  laboring  man,  the  business  man, 
the  professional  man,  and  the  champion  of  the 
banker  as  well.  No  class  is  outside  of  the  benefits 
of  this  law,  for  it  bestows  its  blessings  upon  all. 

Why  has  the  Republican  party  been  so  quick  to 
respond  to  the  demands  of  Wall  street  and  so  slow 
to  yield  to  the  demands  of  the  masses?  There  are 
two  reasons:  first,  the  Republican  party  has  al 
lowed  itself  to  become  the  servant  of  the  favor- 
seeking  corporations ;  and,  second,  too  many  Repub 
lican  leaders  look  at  questions  from  the  aristocratic 
standpoint,  the  standpoint  of  the  few,  rather  than 
from  the  Democratic  standpoint,  the  standpoint  of 
the  many.  They  legislate  upon  the  theory  that 
society  is  suspended  from  the  top,  and  they  fail, 
therefore,  to  understand  either  the  evils  that  afflict 
the  body  politic,  or  the  remedies  that  are  needed. 
The  Democratic  party,  viewing  questions  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  whole  people,  easily  sees  that 
which  Republican  leaders  do  not  discover,  and  its 


GUARANTEED  DEPOSITS  163 

remedies  begin  with  the  relief  of  the  average  man. 
This  is  the  secret,  if  secret  there  be,  of  the  primacy 
of  our  party  in  matters  of  reform. 

When  Solomon  was  invited  to  choose  what  he 
would,  he  asked  for  an  understanding  heart,  that 
he  might  discern  between  the  good  and  the  bad, 
and  he  was  told  that,  because  he  had  chosen  wis 
dom  rather  than  wealth  or  long  life,  he  should 
have,  not  only  wisdom,  but  riches  and  length  of 
days  as  well.  And  so  when  a  party  determines  to 
seek  first  that  which  benefits  the  common  people, 
it  finds  that  in  acting  in  the  interest  of  the  common 
people,  it  also  promotes  the  welfare  of  the  smaller 
classes  which  rest  upon  the  masses,  for  when  the 
producers  of  wealth  prosper,  their  prosperity  is 
shared  by  every  element  of  society, 


XI 
IN   CHICAGO   ON    LABOR   DAY 

Delivered  in  Chicago  on  Sept.  7,  1908,  by  invitation  of 
the  Federation  of  Labor  of  that  city. 

LABOR  DAY  is  a  legal  holiday  and  it  was 
made  so  because  the  legislators  thought 
the  wage-earners  worthy  to  have  a  day  spe 
cially  set  apart  for  the  consideration  of  themes  that 
concern  those  who  toil.  I  appreciate  the  compli 
ment  paid  me  by  the  program  committee  of  this 
city  in  inviting  me  to  participate  in  the  ceremonies 
of  this  day,  and  the  invitation  was  gladly  accepted, 
because  Chicago  is  the  second  city  in  the  Union,  and 
as  a  labor  center  it  is  scarcely  second  to  any  -city  in 
the  world. 

If  it  were  proper  to  speak  from  a  text,  I  would 
select  a  passage  from  Proverbs,  for  I  know  of  no 
better  one  than  that  furnished  by  the  words  of 
Solomon  when  he  declared  that  as  a  man  * '  thinketh 
in  his  heart,  so  is  he."  This  is  Bible  doctrine;  it 
is  common  sense,  and  it  is  human  experience.  We 
think  in  our  hearts  as  well  as  in  our  heads — out 
of  the  heart  "are  the  issues  of  life."  It  is  a  poor 
head  that  cannot  find  a  plausible  reason  for  doing 
what  the  heart  wants  to  do.  I  begin  my  speech 
with  this  proposition  because  I  want  to  impress  it 
upon  the  minds  of  those  who  listen  to  me,  and  upon 
those  who  read  what  I  say  to  you.  The  labor  ques 
tion  is  more  a  moral  than  an  intellectual  one. 
(164) 


IN  CHICAGO  ON  LABOR  DAY        165 

Tolstoy,  the  great  Russian  philosopher,  in  denn 
ing  the  doctrine  of  "bread  labor,"  gives  as  one 
of  the  reasons  in  support  of  it,  that  personal  con 
tact  with  manual  labor — not  a  recollection  of  former 
toil,  but  continued  acquaintance  with  it — is  neces 
sary  to  keep  one  in  sympathy  with  those  who  work 
with  their  hands.  He  contends — and  is  it  not  true  ? 
—that  lack  of  sympathy,  one  with  another,  is  at  the 
root  of  most  of  the  problems  of  society  and  govern 
ment. 

/  The  world  is  growing  toward  brotherhood,  and 
our  nation  is  leading  the  way.  There  is  more  altru 
ism  in  this  country  than  anywhere  else  in  the  world, 
and  more  today  than  there  ever  has  been  before. 
[Phere  is  more  recognition  of  the  kinship  that  exists 
between  us,  more  thought  about  the  questions  which 
Concern  a  common  humanity,  than  at  any  preceding 
time.  The  labor  organization  is  a  part  of  this 
^reat  movement  of  the  masses  toward  closer  fellow 
ship.  It  has  worked  wonders  in  the  past  and  its 
Work  is  only  commenced. 

vThe  labor  organization  helps  those  outside  of  it 
as  well  as  its  members  because  the  increased  wages 
and  improved  conditions  are  /shared  by  non-union 
men  as  well  as  by  union  men. 4 

Do  not  understand  me  to  say  that  a  labor  organ 
ization  is  perfect;  "the  king  can  do  no  wrong" 
can  no  more  be  spoken  of  a  group  than  of  individ 
uals.  The  labor  organization  is  composed  of  men; 
its  affairs  are  controlled  by  human  beings,  and 
human  being^  are  not  perfect.  All  that  man  touches 
is  stained  with  man's  imperfections,  and  his  frailty 
can  be  traced  through  all  his  works.  But,  fortu- 


166  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

nately  for  the  laboring  man,  the  judgment  pro 
nounced  against  his  mistakes  must  be  tempered 
by  the  fact  that  those  with  whom  the  laboring  man 
comes  into  contact  are  also  likely  to  err.  When  the 
employe  deals  with  the  employer,  he  is  dealing 
with  one  of  like  passions  with  himself.  Each  is 
likely  to  be  insistent  upon  what  he  believes  to  be 
right,  and  the  opinion  of  each,  as  to  what  is  right, 
is  likely  to  be  colored  by  selfish  interests  and  af 
fected  by  incomplete  information  as  to  the  facts. 
If  the  employe  has  sometimes  resorted  to  violence 
to  enforce  his  wishes,  the  employer  has  sometimes 
employed  his  position  to  secure  an  unfair  share 
of  the  joint  product.  It  is  the  province  of  the  law 
to  place  limitations  upon  both,  and  the  security  -of 
our  Government  is  found  in  the  fact  that  both  em 
ployer  and  employe,  in  their  calmer  moments,  will 
join  in  the  enactment  of  laws  which  will  restrain 
them  in  moments  of  temptation.  Some  assume  that 
labor  is  lawless  and  that  to  settle  the  labor  question 
permanently  we  need  only  enforce  the  law  rigor 
ously.  I  yield  to  none  in  insistence  upon  obedience 
to  the  law.  Law  is  necessary  in  human  society,  and 
its  enforcement  is  essential  to  peace  and  order,  but 
we  must  remedy  abuses  by  law  if  we  would  insure 
respect  for,  and  obedience  to  law. 

The  important  lesson  to  be  learned  by  the  citizen 
in  a  government  like  ours  is  that  the  ballot  is  both 
shield  and  sword — it  protects  him  from  injury  and 
enforces  his  rights. 

The  first  thing  that  is  needed  for  a  better  under 
standing  of  labor  questions  is  the  recognition  of 
the  equal  rights  of  all,  and,  second,  more  intimate 


IN  CHICAGO  ON  LABOR  DAY        167 

acquaintance.  We  have  rights  that  may  be  called 
natural  rights;  they  are  inherent;  we  have  them 
because  we  are  human  beings.  The  Government 
did  not  bestow  them  upon  us — the  Government  can 
not  rightfully  withdraw  them  from  us.  We  all 
come  into  the  world  without  our  volition:  the  en 
vironment  of  youth  largely  determines  the  course 
of  our  lives,  and  this  environment  is  not  of  our 
choosing.  We  live  under  the  same  moral  obliga 
tions,  and  are  responsible  to  the  same  Supreme 
Being.  We  have  our  needs  that  must  be  supplied ; 
we  require  food,  clothing,  shelter,  companionship. 
We  have  our  domestic  ties,  and  the  tenderness  of 
these  ties  is  not  measured  by  wealth  or  position  in 
society.  Man  has  used  petty  distinctions  to  sep 
arate  society  into  different  classes,  but  these  dis 
tinctions  are  insignificant  when  compared  with 
the  great  similarities  that  unite  us  in  a  common 
destiny  and  impel  us  toward  a  common  end. 

On  this  day  it  is  well  to  emphasize  the  fact  that 
we  are  linked  together  by  bonds  which  we  could 
not  break  if  we  would  and  should  not  weaken  if 
we  could.  It  ought  to  be  easy  to  learn  this  les 
son  in  the  United  States,  for  here  more  than  any 
where  else,  people  feel  their  interdependence.  We 
have  no  law  of  primogeniture  to  separate  the 
oldest  son  from  his  brothers  and  sisters ;  and  we 
have  no  law  of  entail  to  prevent  the  alienation  of 
an  estate.  There  is  no  aristocracy  resting  upon 
birth  or  kingly  favor;  and  if  the  people  perform 
their  civic  duties,  there  will  be  no  plutocracy  rul 
ing  in  the  name  of  the  dollar.  Here  the  road  to 
advancement  is  a  public  highway,  and  it  is  within 


168  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

our  power  to  keep  it  open  to  all  alike.  Here,  too, 
the  Government  is  within  the  control  of  the  peo 
ple,  and  no  department  of  the  service  is  out  of 
the  reach  of  the  voter  or  beyond  the  influence  of 
public  opinion.  Under  our  constitution,  some 
branches  of  the  Government  are  more  quickly  re 
sponsive  than  others  to  the  public  will,  but  our 
Government  can  be  controlled  by  the  people,  from 
the  organic  law  which  we  call  the  constitution  to 
the  statute  and  the  court's  decree. 

A  long  step  toward  the  elevation  of  labor  to 
its  proper  position  in  the  nation's  deliberations  is 
to  be  found  in  the  establishment  of  a  Department 
of  Labor,  with  a  cabinet  officer  at  its  head.  The 
wage-earners  deserve  this  recognition,  and  the  ex 
ecutive  is  entitled  to  the  assistance  which  such  an 
official  could  render  him.  I  regard  the  inaugura 
tion  of  this  reform  as  the  opening  of  a  new  era 
in  which  those  who  toil  will  have  a  voice  in  the 
deliberations  of  the  President's  council  chamber. 

The  labor  organization  has  been  seriously  handi 
capped  by  the  fact  that  it  has  been — and  I  am  not 
sure  that  it  has  been  done  unwittingly — yoked  up 
with  the  industrial  combinations  known  as  trusts. 
The  pr oneness  of  trust  defenders  to  use  the  labor 
organization  as  an  excuse  for  combinations  in  re 
straint  of  trade  has  aroused  the  suspicion  that  they 
have  been  classed  together  for  the  purpose  of 
shielding  the  combinations  of  capital.  As  the 
result  of  eighteen  years  of  anti-trust  legislation, 
only  one  man  has  been  given  a  penal  sentence  for 
violating  the  federal  law  on  this  subject,  and  that 
man  was  a  member  of  a  labor  organization  rather 


IN  CHICAGO  ON  LABOR  DAY        16<> 

than  a  trust  magnate.  The  laboring  man  is  justi 
fied  in  his  demand  that  a  distinction  shall  be  drawn 
between  the  labor  organization  and  the  industrial 
monopoly. 

The  trust  and  the  labor  organization  cannot  be 
described  in  the  same  language.  The  trust  mag 
nates  have  used  their  power  to  amass  swollen  for 
tunes,  while  no  one  will  say  that  the  labor  organ 
ization  has  as  yet  secured  for  its  members  more 
than  their  share  of  the  profits  arising  from  their 
work.  But  there  are  fundamental  differences. 
The  trust  is  a  combination  of  dollars;  the  labor 
organization  is  an  association  of  human  beings. 
In  a  trust  a  few  men  attempt  to  control  the  pro 
duct  of  others;  in  a  labor  organization,  the  mem 
bers  unite  for  the  protection  of  that  which  is  their 
own,  namely,  their  own  labor,  which,  being  neces 
sary  to  their  existence,  is  a  part  of  them.  The 
trust  deals  with  dead  matter;  the  labor  organiza 
tion  deals  with  life  and  with  intellectual  and  moral 
forces.  No  impartial  student  of  the  subject  will 
deny  the  right  of  the  laboring  man  to  exemption 
from  the  operation  of  the  existing  anti-trust  law. 

If  the  labor  organization  needs  to  be  regulated 
by  law,  let  it  be  regulated  by  a  law  which  deals 
with  man  as  man,  and  not  by  a  law  that  was  aimed 
to  prevent  the  cornering  of  a  commodity  or  the 
forestalling  of  the  market. 

I  shall  not  speak  of  the  eight -hour  day,  or  of 
the  employer's  liability  act,   because  both  of  the 
leading  parties  have  endorsed  these  reforms;  the 
only  question  to  be  considered  is :  which  party  can 
best  be  trusted  to  secure  these  reforms?     I  need 

II  12 


170  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

hardly  assure  you  that  I  am  heartily  in  favor  of 
both  reforms. 

There  are  two  questions,  however,  intimately 
connected  with  the  labor  problem  upon  which  the 
Democratic  and  Republican  parties  do  not  agree, 
and  I  not  only  feel  at  liberty  to  discuss  these,  but, 
under  the  circumstances,  I  have  no  right  to  ignore 
them.  One  relates  to  the  issue  of  injunctions,  and 
the  other  to  contempt  cases  arising  under  injunc 
tions.  The  Republican  convention  did  not  deal 
candidly  with  the  laboring  man  on  the  subject 
of  the  writ  of  injunction.  Secretary  Taft  has  en 
deavored  to  amend  his  platform  in  this  respect  and 
to  make  some  promises,  which  are  not  supported 
by  his  platform,  but  his  promises  offer  nothing 
substantial  in  the  way  of  reform,  and  are  not  bind 
ing  on  Republican  senators  and  members.  The 
Republican  Congress  has  already  made  a  record 
on  labor  questions,  and  the  Republican  party  can 
not  escape  from  that  record. 

Mr.  Taft's  speech  may  be  considered  as  binding 
upon  him,  but  the  convention  which  elected  the 
Republican  candidates  endorsed  the  Republican 
platform — not  Mr.  Taft's  personal  views.  The 
Republican  platform,  while  pretending  to  pledge 
some  modifications  of  the  law,  contains  an  excep 
tion  clause  which  reiterates  the  very  language  of 
the  law.  Whether  this  exception  clause  was  in 
serted  by  accident  or  design,  the  effect  is  the  same. 
It  merely  provides,  in  substance,  that  restraining 
orders  shall  not  issue  without  notice  except  where 
such  order  can  now  issue  without  notice.  The 
platform  was  a  triumph  for  those  who  have  been 


IN  CHICAGO  ON  LABOR  DAY        171 

opposing  the  laboring  man,  and  they  have  been 
boasting  of  their  victory. 

The  Democratic  platform  on  this  subject  copies 
the  language  which  the  labor  organizations  sub 
mitted  to  the  Republican  and  Democratic  conven 
tions.  Mr.  Taft,  in  his  notification  speech,  objects 
to  the  language.  He  charges  that  the  anti-injunc 
tion  plank  was  " loosely  drawn,"  and  framed  for 
4 'the  especial  purpose  of  rendering  it  susceptible 
to  one  interpretation  by  one  set  of  men,  and  a  dia 
metrically  opposite  interpretation  by  another."  As 
Mr.  Taft  has  had  long  experience  on  the  bench, 
and  is  therefore  skilled  in  the  interpretation  of 
language,  I  ask  him  to  give  us,  if  he  can,  two 
opposite  interpretations  of  the  language.  That 
plank  demands  that  "all  parties  to  all  judicial 
proceedings  shall  be  treated  with  rigid  impartial 
ity."  Surely  he  cannot  find  two  interpretations 
to  the  phrase  "rigid  impartiality." 

Speaking  of  industrial  disputes,  the  platform 
declares  that  "injunctions  shall  not  be  issued  in 
any  cases  in  which  injunctions  would  not  issue  if 
no  industrial  dispute  were  involved."  How  can 
that  language  be  misconstrued  or  misinterpreted? 
If  words  mean  anything,  that  plank  means  that  an 
industrial  dispute  shall  not,  in  itself,  be  regarded 
as  a  sufficient  cause  for.  an  injunction.  If  an  in 
junction  issues  in  an  industrial  dispute,  it  must 
be  based  upon  acts  which  would  justify  an  injunc 
tion  if  there  were  no  industrial  dispute  involved. 
There  is  nothing  ambiguous  about  it;  there  is 
nothing  that  can  be  misconstrued  or  misinterpreted, 
even  by  one  desiring  to  find  a  double  meaning. 


172  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

Why  do  the  Republican  leaders  attempt  to  read 
ambiguity  into  those  words?  Simply  because  they 
cannot  meet  the  proposition  presented.  Even  Mr. 
Taft  attempts  to  avoid  the  issue  by  saying  that 
"no  one  has  ever  maintained  that  the  fact  that  a 
dispute  was  industrial  gave  any  basis  for  the  issu 
ing  of  an  injunction  in  reference  thereto."  If  it 
is  true  that  no  one  now  maintains  that,  then  why 
find  fault  with  our  platform  on  that  subject?  If 
nobody  opposes  our  position,  we  ought  to  have  no 
difficulty  in  securing  the  passage  of  a  law  in  har 
mony  with  this  plank. 

Upon  the  jury  question  Mr.  Taft  clearly  takes 
issue  with  us.  He  is  thoroughly  aroused  by  what 
he  regards  as  a  menace  to  the  courts.  Here  is  his 
lament  : 

"Never  in  the  history  of  the  country  has  there  been  such 
an  insidious  attack  upon  the  judicial  system  as  the  pro 
posal  to  interject  a  jury  trial  between  all  orders  of  the 
court  made  after  full  hearing  and  the  enforcement  of  such 
orders." 

This  would  come  under  the  head  of  "  Impor 
tant,  if  true."  But  the  fact  is,  our  platform  spe 
cifically  declares  that  we  favor  a  measure  "which 
passed  the  United  States  Senate  in  1896,  and  which 
a  Republican  Congress  has  ever  since  refused  to 
enact,"  etc.,  providing  for  trial  by  jury  in  cases 
of  indirect  contempt.  Are  not  the  proceedings  of 
the  United  States  Senate  a  part  of  the  history  of 
the  country?  This  measure  passed  the  United 
States  Senate  more  than  twelve  years  ago,  and  the 
vote  upon  it  was  so  nearly  unanimous  that  no  roll 
call  was  demanded.  The  bill  wras  not  smuggled 
through  without  discussion.  It  was  amended  iu 


IN  CHICAGO  OX  LABOR  DAY        173 

open  Senate  and  the  members  of  the  Senate  had 
ample  opportunity  to  understand  it.  It  would 
have  passed  Congress  and  become  a  law  long  ago 
but  for  the  fact  that  a  few  large  corporate  employ 
ers  of  labor  have  kept  a  lobby  in  Washington  ever 
since,  and  have  been  able  to  coerce  Congress  into 
ignoring  the  laboring  man's  plea. 

Mr.  Taft  is  not  an  unbiased  judge  where  the 
jury  system  is  under  consideration.  He  is  not  only 
known  as  the  father  of  government  by  injunction, 
but  he  is  prejudiced  against  the  jury  system. 
Every  man  is  unconsciously  influenced  by  his  en 
vironment,  and  Mr.  Taft's  long  service  upon  the 
bench  has  led  him  to  underrate  the  importance  of 
the  jury  system.  In  his  address  to  the  students 
of  Yale,  entitled,  "A  Judge  on  the  Bench,"  he 
shows  a  decided  leaning  toward  an  increase  of 
the  authority  of  the  judge,  and  praises  the  proced 
ure  in  the  federal  court  at  the  expense  of  the 
western  courts,  even  tho  he  admits  that  "the  jury 
system  popularizes  the  court  and  gives  the  people 
to  understand  that  they  have  not  only  an  interest 
but  also  a  part  in  the  administration  of  justice." 
He  has  fallen  into  the  error  of  assuming  that  any 
improvement  in  the  method  of  court  procedure  is 
an  attack  upon  the  authority  of  the  court.  This 
is  an  ancient  method  of  opposing  reforms.  Lord 
Maeaulay  had  to  encounter  a  similar  objection 
when  he  favored  the  reform  of  the  rotten  borough 
system  of  England.  Those  who  were  opposed  to 
the  reform  construed  it  as  an  attack  upon  the 
throne  and  as  a  menace  to  the  stability  of  the  gov 
ernment,  but  the  reform  was  secured  and  the  gov- 


174  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

ernment  of  England  was  improved  rather  than 
impaired.  So  the  reform  attempted  by  the  Senate 
twelve  years  ago,  and  endorsed  by  three  Democratic 
national  conventions,  is  in  the  interest  of  justice 
and  has  for  its  object  the  strengthening  of  the  court 
in  public  estimation. 

It  is  not  a  reflection  upon  the  judge  of  a  crim 
inal  court  to  say  that  he  shall  not  decide  upon  the 
guilt  of  the  accused.  Our  criminal  courts  are  the 
better,  not  the  worse,  for  the  substitution  of  trial 
by  jury.  No  common  law  judge  feels  that  it  is  a 
reflection  upon  him  when  a  party  to  a  suit  asks 
for  a  trial  before  a  jury.  It  is  the  special  function 
of  a  jury  to  decide  upon  the  credibility  of  wit 
nesses,  and  the  manner  of  a  witness  upon  the  stand 
is  often  as  important  as  his  words  in  determining 
the  weight  to  be  attached  to  his  testimony.  A 
judge  is  apt  to  be  hampered  by  precedent.  He 
wants  this  decision  to  harmonize  with  former  de 
cisions  rendered  by  him,  altho  the  facts  are  never 
the  same  in  two  cases.  The  jury  is  better  able  to 
decide  each  case  upon  its  merits. 

It  must  be  remembered,  too,  that  in  cases  of 
indirect  contempt,  the  charge  is  a  criminal  one  and 
that  the  punishment  is  by  fine  or  imprisonment. 
All  the  reasons  that  apply  to  criminal  cases  apply 
to  these  cases  of  indirect  contempt,  and  the  abuses 
to  be  removed  by  the  proposed  law  are  those  that 
have  grown  up  because  of  the  increased  tendency 
of  the  great  corporations  to  use  the  writ  of  injunc 
tion  to  avoid  the  jury  trial. 

The  Democratic  platform  proposes  no  interfer 
ence  with  the  right  of  the  judge  to  decide  the  cases 


IN  CHICAGO  ON  LABOR  DAY        175 

of  direct  contempt — contempt  committed  in  the 
presence  of  the  court;  neither  is  it  proposed  to 
interfere  with  the  right  of  the  judge  to  determine 
the  punishment  for  indirect  contempt.  All  that  is 
sought  is  the  substitution  of  trial  by  jury  for  trial 
by  judge  when  the  violation  of  the  court's  decree 
must  be  established  by  evidence. 

Not  only  is  the  prosecution  for  contempt  a  crim 
inal  prosecution,  but  there  is  even  more  reason 
for  a  jury  than  in  the  ordinary  criminal  case.  In  the 
criminal  court  the  judge  acts  in  a  judicial  capacity 
only.  He  is  not  responsible  for  the  law  which  is 
being  enforced  in  his  court,  and  therefore  he  has 
no  personal  grievance  against  the  defendant,  and, 
not  being  the  prosecutor  in  the  case,  he  does  not 
feel  a  personal  interest  in  the  result  of  the  trial ; 
but  in  a  contempt  proceeding  the  judge  is  the 
lawmaker  and  the  public  prosecutor  as  well  as  the 
judge.  It  is  the  judge's  order  which  the  accused 
is  charged  with  violating,  and  it  is  the  judge  who 
appears  to  prosecute  the  case,  upon  which  he  is  to 
render  a  decision.  In  our  Federal  and  State  con 
stitutions  we  have  carefully  separated  the  three 
departments  of  government,  and  each  department 
is  jealous  of  any  encroachment  upon  its  sphere  of 
activity.  The  judge  resents  any  attempt  of  the 
legislator  or  of  the  executive  to  usury  the  func 
tions  of  the  court;  the  executive  resents  any  at 
tempt  of  the  court  or  of  the  lawmaker  to  enter  his 
domain,  and  the  lawmaker  is  equally  insistent  upon 
the  preservation  of  his  independence.  If  there  is 
any  time  or  place  where  a  jury  is  needed,  it  is  in 
a  case  of  indirect  contempt.  It  is  not  strange  that 


176  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

abuses  have  crept  in,  for  a  man  would  have  to  be 
more  than  human  to  unite  in  himself  the  delibera 
tion  of  the  legislator,  the  zeal  of  the  public  prose 
cutor  and  the  impartiality  of  the  judge. 

While  the  laboring  men  have  been  the  first  to 
complain  of  this  denial  of  the  right  of  trial  by 
jury  in  cases  of  indirect  contempt,  it  ought  not  to 
be  considered  a  labor  question.  The  jury  system 
is  so  essential  to  the  administration  of  justice  that 
the  subject  ought  to  appeal  to  all  who  make  a 
study  of  the  science  of  government.  If  citizens 
would  only  be  on  their  guard  against  the  begin 
nings  of  evils,  it  would  be  very  easy  to  apply  neces 
sary  remedies,  but  in  the  struggle  for  existence 
the  voters  are  often  indifferent  to  the  application 
of  an  erroneous  principle  until  repeated  applica 
tions  establish  a  custom,  and  in  time  a  custom  crysr 
tallizes  into  law.  It  behooves  us,  as  lovers  of  our 
country  and  as  the  friends  of  liberty,  to  insist  upon 
the  independence  of  the  different  departments  of 
our  Government  and  upon  the  maintenance  of  the 
rights  which  have  been  shown  by  experience  to  be 
essential  to  freedom  and  self-government.  The 
jury  system  must  be  preserved,  and  we  cannot 
hope  to  preserve  it  if,  for  any  reason  or  under  any 
pretext,  we  permit  any  citizen  to  be  denied  the 
protection  which  it  furnishes. 

According  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
governments  are  instituted  among  men  to  secure  to 
them  the  enjoyment  of  their  inalienable  rights. 
Among  these  inalienable  rights,  three  are  specific 
ally  enumerated — life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness.  The  second  and  third,  however,  are 


IN  CHICAGO  ON  LABOR  DAY        177 

really  parts  of  the  first,  for  life  means  nothing  to 
the  individual  if  it  is  confined  to  mere  animal 
existence.  Man  is  distinguished  from  the  brute  in 
that  the  latter  merely  eats  and  sleeps  and  dies, 
while  man  is  endowed  by  the  Creator  with  infinite 
possibilities.  Liberty  is  necessary  for  the  realiza 
tion  of  man's  possibilities.  His  conscience  must 
be  left  free  that  he  may  fix  for  himself  the  relation 
between  himself  and  his  God.  His  mind  must  be 
left  free  that  he  may  devise  and  plan  for  himself, 
for  his  family  and  for  his  fellows.  His  speech  must 
be  free  that  he  may  give  to  the  world  the  results 
of  his  investigations  and  present  to  others  the  ideal 
which  he  is  trying  to  realize  in  his  work.  His  pen 
must  be  free  that  he  may  scatter  seed  thoughts  to 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  and  leave  to  pos 
terity  a  record  of  his  work.  He  finds  in  govern 
ment  the  cheapest,  as  well  as  the  surest,  protec 
tion  of  this  liberty,  to  be,  to  think,  to  speak,  to 
act. 

And  what  constitutes  the  pursuit  of  happiness? 
Man  must  have  home  a«id  friends — family  and 
society.  He  must  have  food  or  he  will  starve. 
He  must  have  clothing  and  shelter;  he  must  have 
books,  he  must  have  instruments  with  which  to 
work.  He  must  provide  during  the  period  of 
strength  for  the  years  when  age  dulls  his  energies 
and  benumbs  his  hands.  He  may  have  ambition, 
he  may  have  willingness  to  work  and  an  environ 
ment  that  spurs  him  on ;  but  the  government  may 
encourage  or  it  may  discourage  his  efforts.  Gov 
ernment  may  bid  him  hope  or  leave  him  to  de 
spair. 


178  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

"When  I  visited  the  valley  of  Jordan  I  learned 
that  it  is  fertile  and  productive,  and  yet,  instead 
of  being  cultivated  like  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  vast 
stretches  of  territory  lie  untilled.  Why?  I  was 
told  that  under  the  reign  of  the  Sultan  the  toiler 
is  not  protected  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  fruits  of 
his  toil.  If  .the  farmer  plants  and  tends  his  crop, 
the  roving  Bedouins  will  sweep  down  from  the 
hills  at  harvest  time  and  carry  away  the  fruits  of 
his  industry. 

If  the  government  does  not  assure  to  the  indi 
vidual  the  enjoyment  of  the  result  of  his  effort, 
there  is  no  stimulus  to  industry. 

We  have  the  best  government  on  earth.  It  gives 
the  largest  liberty,  the  greatest  hope  and  the  most 
encouragement  to  its  citizens,  and  yet,  even  in  this 
country,  it  is  always  necessary  to  be  on  the  watch 
to  keep  the  instrumentalities  of  government  from 
being  turned  to  private  gain. 

One  of  the  great  problems  of  to-day  is  to  secure 
an  equitable  distribution  of  the  proceeds  of  toil. 
The  material  wealth  of  this  country  is  largely  a 
joint  product;  in  factories  few  people  work  alone, 
and  on  the  farm  a  certain  amount  of  co-operation 
is  necessary.  Where  men  work  together,  the  army 
organization  applies  to  some  degree;  that  is,  some 
direct,  others  are  directed.  The  difficulty  has  been 
to  divide  the  results  fairly  between  the  captains 
of  industry  and  the  privates  in  the  ranks.  As 
the  dividing  is  done  largely  by  the  captains,  it  is 
not  unnatural  that  they  should  magnify  their  part 
and  keep  too  large  a  share  for  themselves;  neither 
is  it  unnatural  that  there  should  be  complaint  on 


IN  CHICAGO  OX  LABOR  DAY        179 

the  part  of  the  toilers  who  think  that  their  recom 
pense  is  insufficient. 

The  labor  question,  therefore,  as  it  presents  itself 
at  this  time,  is  chiefly  a  question  of  distribution, 
and  the  legislation  asked  for  is  legislation  which 
will  secure  to  each  that  to  which  his  services  entitle 
him.  As  legislation  is  secured  through  the  ballot 
everyone  should  use  the  ballot  to  obtain  the  legis 
lation  necessary.  The  Democratic  platform  pre 
sents  the  ideal  toward  which  the  Democratic  party 
is  striving,  namely,  justice  in  the  distribution  of 
rewards.  The  Democratic  party  proclaims  that 
each  individual  should  receive  from  society  a  re 
ward  for  his  toil  commensurate  with  his  contribu 
tion  to  the  welfare  of  society,  and  unless  some 
other  party  can  do  the  work  better,  the  Democratic 
party  ought  to  have  the  support  of  all,  whether 
they  belong  to  the  wage-earning  class  or  occupy 
positions  in  which  they  direct  the  efforts  of  others. 
If  an  officer  in  the  industrial  army  were  sure  that 
his  children  and  his  children's  children  would  in 
herit  his  position,  he  might  feel  possibly  indifferent 
as  to  those  under  his  command,  but  the  children  of 
those  who,  to-day,  work  for  wages  may  employ  the 
children  of  those  who,  in  this  generation,  are  em 
ployers.  This  uncertainty  as  to  future  genera 
tions,  as  well  as  our  sense  of  justice,  should  lead 
us  to  make  the  Government  as  nearly  perfect  as 
possible,  for  a  good  government  is  the  best  legacy 
that  a  parent  can  leave  to  his  child.  Kiches  may 
take  the  wings  of  the  morning  and  fly  away,  but 
government  is  permanent,  and  we  cannot  serve 
posterity  better  than  by  contributing  to  the  per- 


180  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

fection  of  the  Government,  that  each  child  born 
into  the  world  may  feel  that  it  has  here  an  oppor 
tunity  for  the  most  complete  development,  and  a 
chance  to  secure,  through  service,  the  largest  pos 
sible  happiness  and  honor. 


XII 
THE  STATE  AND   THE   NATION 

Delivered  in  Peoria,  111.,  on  September  9,  1908. 

THE  success  of  our  system  of  government  rests 
upon  the  careful  observance  of  the  constitu 
tional  division  of  power  between  the  State 
and  the  Nation.  A  number  of  expressions  have 
been  coined  to  describe  the  relations  existing  be 
tween  the  Federal  Government  and  the  several  sub 
divisions,  but  no  one  has  been  more  felicitous  in 
definitions  than  Jefferson  or  more  accurate  in 
drawing  lines  of  demarcation.  He  presented  the 
historic  position  of  the  Democratic  party  when  he 
declared  himself  in  favor  of  "the  support  of  the 
State  governments  in  all  their  rights,  as  the  most 
competent  administrations  for  our  domestic  con 
cerns  and  the  surest  bulwarks  against  anti-repub 
lican  tendencies,"  and  "the  preservation  of  the 
general  Government  in  its  whole  constitutional 
vigor,  as  the  sheet  anchor  of  our  safety  at  horns 
and  peace  abroad."  The  Democratic  platform, 
adopted  at  Denver,  quotes  the  language  of  Jeffer 
son  and  declares  that  it  expresses  the  party's  posi 
tion  at  this  time. 

It  would  be  almost  as  difficult  to  maintain  a  free, 
self-governing  republic  over  a  large  area  and  with 
a  large  population  without  State  governments  as  it 
would  be  to  maintain  such  a  republic  without  a 

(181) 


182  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

general  government.  The  interests  of  the  different 
parts  of  the  country  are  so  varied,  and  the  matters 
requiring  legislative  attention  so  numerous,  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  have  all  of  the  work  done 
at  the  national  capital.  One  has  only  to  examine 
the  bills  introduced  in  each  Congress,  and  then  add 
to  the  number  the  bills  introduced  at  the  legisla 
tive  sessions  of  each  of  the  forty-six  States,  to 
realize  that  it  would  be  beyond  the  power  of  any 
body  of  men  to  legislate  intelligently  on  the  multi 
tude  of  questions  that  require  consideration. 

Not  only  would  national  legislators  lack  the  time 
necessary  for  investigation,  and  therefore  lack  the 
information  necessary  to  wise  decision,  but  the  in 
difference  of  representatives  in  one  part  of  the 
country  to  local  matters  in  other  parts  of  the  coun 
try  would  invite  the  abuse  of  power.  Then,  too,  the 
seat  of  government  would  be  so  far  from  the  great 
majority  of  the  voters  as  to  prevent  that  scrutiny 
of  public  conduct  which  is  essential  to  clean  and 
honest  government.  The  union  of  the  separate 
States  under  a  Federal  Government  offers  the  only 
plan  that  can  adapt  itself  to  indefinite  extension. 

Our  constitution  expressly  reserves  to  the  States 
and  to  the  people  respectively  all  powers  not  dele 
gated  to  the  Federal  Government,  and  only  by  re 
specting  this  division  of  powers  can  we  hope  to 
keep  the  Government  within  the  reach  of  the  peo 
ple  and  responsive  to  the  will  of  the  people.  Be 
cause  in  all  disputes  as  to  the  relative  spheres  of 
the  Nation  and  the  States  the  final  decision  rests 
with  the  federal  courts,  the  tendency  is  naturally,;" 
toward  centralization,  and  greater  care  is  required  j 


THE  STATE  AND  THE  NATION        183 

to  preserve  the  reserved  rights  of  the  States  than 
to  maintain  the  authority  of  the  general  Govern 
ment. 

In  recent  years  another  force  has  been  exerting 
an  increasing  influence  in  extending  the  authority 
of  the  central  Government.  I  refer  to  the  great 
corporations.  They  prefer  the  federal  courts  to 
the  State  courts,  and  employ  every  possible  device 
to  drag  litigants  before  United  States  judges.  They 
also  prefer  Congressional  regulation  to  State  regu 
lation,  and  those  interested  in  large  corporations 
have  for  years  been  seeking  federal  incorporation. 
The  Democratic  party  will  resist  every  attempt  to 
obliterate  State  lines,  whether  the  attempt  is  made 
through  legislation  or  through  judicial  interpreta 
tion.  Amendment  of  the  organic  law  by  judicial 
interpretation  would  be  destructive  of  constitution 
al  government;  our  constitution  can  be  amended 
by  the  people  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the 
document  itself,  and  no  group  of  men,  however 
honorable  or  high  minded,  can  usurp  this  power 
without  violating  the  fundamental  principles  of 
our  Government. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  the  rights  of  the 
States  can  lapse  through  non-use,  and  that  Congress 
is  justified  in  usurping  the  authority  of  the  State 
if  the  State  fails  to  make  proper  use  of  it.  While 
this  doctrine  has  been  advanced  in  the  pretended 
interest  of  the  people,  it  is  as  insidious  and  as  dan 
gerous  an  assault  as  has  ever  been  made  on  our 
constitutional  form  of  government.  The  people  of 
the  State  can  act  with  more  promptness  than  the 
people  of  the  nation,  and  if  they  fail  to  act,  it  must 


184  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

be  assumed  that  the  people  of  the  State  prefer  in 
action. 

The  real  purpose  that  those  have  in  view  who 
complain  of  the  inaction  of  the  State,  is  not  more 
strict  regulation  of  corporations,  but  the  relief  of 
corporations  from  State  regulation. 

The  Democratic  party  favors  the  full  exercise  of 
the  powers  of  the  Government  for  the  protection  of 
the  rights  of  the  people — each  government  to  act 
within  its  constitutional  sphere.  Our  platform  de 
mands  that  federal  legislation  be  added  to,  not  sub 
stituted  for,  State  legislation. 

The  predatory  corporations  have  taken  advant 
age  of  the  dual  character  of  our  Government  and 
have  tried  to  hide  behind  State  rights  when  prose 
cuted  in  the  federal  courts,  and  behind  the  inter 
state  commerce  clause  of  4:he  constitution  when 
prosecuted  in  the  State  courts. 

There  is  no  twilight  zone  between  the  Nation  and 
the  State  in  which  the  exploiting  interests  can  take 
refuge  from  both.  There  is  no  neutral  ground 
where,  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  either  sovereign 
ty,  the  plunderers  of  the  public  can  find  a  safe  re 
treat.  As  long  as  a  corporation  confines  its  activi 
ties  to  the  State  in  which  it  was  created,  it  is  sub 
ject  to  State  regulation  only ;  but  as  soon  as  it  in 
vades  interstate  commerce  it  becomes  amenable  to 
federal  laws  as  well  as  to  the  laws  of  the  State 
which  created  it  and  the  laws  of  the  States  in 
which  it  does  business. 

How  strict  can  these  laws  be?  Just  as  strict  as 
may  be  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  public. 

Our   platform   outlines  the  regulation   deemed 


THE  STATE  AND  THE  NATION       185 

necessary,  and  the  regulation  is  specifically  set  f  ortbi 
in  order  that  our  opponents  may  not  be  able  to 
scare  the  public  by  predicting  hurtful  legislation. 
Our  platform,  unlike  the  Republican  platform,  says 
what  it  means  and  means  only  what  it  says. 

A  distinction  is  drawn  between  the  railroads  and 
other  corporations.  The  railroad,  being  a  quasi- 
public  corporation  and,  as  such,  being  permitted 
to  exercise  a  part  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  State, 
is  subject  to  regulation  at  the  hands  of  both  the 
nation  and  the  State,  but  this  regulation  is  in 
tended,  not  to  cripple  the  railroads,  but  to  increase 
their  efficiency.  The  people  at  large  are  as  much 
interested  as  the  stockholders  are  in  the  successful 
operation  of  the  railroads.  Their  own  pecuniary 
interests  as  well  as  their  sense  of  justice  would 
restrain  them  from  doing  anything  that  would  im 
pair  the  road  or  reduce  its  efficiency.  The  trav 
eling  public  is  vitally  interested  in  the  payment  of 
wages  sufficient  to  command  the  most  intelligent 
service,  for  life  as  well  as  property  is  in  the  hands 
of  those  who  operate  the  trains,  guard  the  switches, 
and  keep  the  track  in  repair. 

The  Democratic  party  would  distinguish  between 
those  railroad  owners,  directors  and  managers  who, 
recognizing  their  obligation  to  the  public,  earn 
their  salaries  by  conscientious  devotion  to  the  work 
entrusted  to  them,  and  those  unscrupulous  "  Na 
poleons  of  Finance"  who  use  railroads  as  mere 
pawns  in  a  great  gambling  game  without  regard 
to  the  rights  of  stockholders,  the  welfare  of  em 
ployees  or  the  interests  of  the  patrons.  It  is  in  the 
interest  of  honest  railroading  and  legitimate  invest- 

II  13 


186  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

ment  that  the  Democratic  party  seeks  to  ascertain 
the  present  value  of  the  railroad  properties  and  to 
prevent  for  the  future  the  watering  of  stock  and 
the  issue  of  fictitious  capitalization ;  and  it  is  in  the 
interest  of  both  the  railroads  and  the  public  that 
it  seeks  only  such  reductions  in  transportation 
rates  as  can  be  made  without  wage  reduction,  with 
out  deterioration  in  the  service  and  without  injus 
tice  to  legitimate  investments.  The  Democratic 
party  insists  that  in  the  matter  of  regulation  of 
railroads  both  the  State  governments  and  the  Fed 
eral  Government  shall  act  up  to,  and  yet  within, 
their  powers ;  for  nothing  else  will  restore  the  con 
fidence  and  good-will  that  ought  to  exist  between 
the  railroads  and  the  people.  In  dealing  with  man 
ufacturing  and  trading  corporations  the  Demo 
cratic  party  draws  a  distinction  between  those  cor 
porations — and  they  constitute  the  great  majority 
of  all  the  manufacturing  and  trading  corporations 
— which  are  engaged  in  a  legitimate  effort  to  sup 
ply  what  the  consumers  need,  and  the  very  few  cor 
porations  which  are  seeking  by  conscienceless  meth 
ods  to  take  advantage  of  the  public  on  the  one 
hand,  while  on  the  other  hand  they  bankrupt  com 
petitors,  oppress  the  producers  of  raw  materials 
and  deal  arbitrarily  with  their  employees.  It  en 
deavors  to  protect  the  innocent  corporations  by 
visiting  punishment  upon  those  corporations  which 
are  guilty  of  infractions  of  the  moral  as  well  as 
the  statute  law.  Here,  too,  our  platform  is  specific 
and  no  one  can  use  its  language  to  frighten  any 
business  man  whose  transactions  are  fair  and  whose 
income  is  honestly  earned. 


THE  STATE  AND  THE  NATION        187 

No  one  can  contrast  the  plain,  straightforward 
declarations  of  our  party  with  the  vague  and  am 
biguous  utterances  of  the  Republican  leaders  and 
the  Republican  candidate  without  recognizing  that 
our  appeal  is  to  the  judgment  and  good  sense  of  the 
voters  who  desire  justice  for  themselves  and  insist 
upon  justice  being  done  by  others.  Our  party,  if 
entrusted  with  the  power,  will  remedy  the  abuses  \ 
which  have  grown  up  under  Republican  rule,  and 
yet  remedy  those  abuses  with  due  regard  to  con 
stitutional  limitations  and  without  injury  to  any 
legitimate  business  interest. 


SPEECHES 
IN   FOREIGN   LANDS 


I 

PATRIOTISM 

Delivered  in  Havana,  Cuba,  May  10,  1002,  at  a  banquet 
at  the  time  of  the  inauguration  of  the  first  president  of  the 
Republic  of  Cuba. 

I  ESTEEM  it  a  great  privilege  and  a  high  honor 
to  be  invited  to  participate  in  this  memorable 
occasion.  I  am  not  here  to  represent  the  Gov 
ernment  of  the  United  States.  The  distinguished 
soldier  and  citizen  who  has  represented  the  Ameri 
can  Government  upon  the  island  with  so  much 
ability  and  success  is  present  to  represent  my  coun 
try  in  an  official  capacity ;  but  as  an  American  citi 
zen  I  can  congratulate  you  upon  the  realization 
of  your  hopes,  and  as  an  American  citizen  I  can 
give  expression  to  the  pride  that  I  feel  at  the  fact 
that  our  soldiers  and  official  representatives  have 
conducted  themselves  so  well  that  the  Cuban  vet 
erans  tender  them  this  complimentary  dinner  and 
express  so  much  of  gratitude  and  of  good-will. 

When  asked  to  respond  to  the  toast,  I  could 
think  of  no  better  sentiment  than  "Patriotism." 

Of  what  other  sentiment  could  I  think  at  a  ban-  [ 
quet  given  by  the  veterans  of  the  Cuban  army  and 
in  the  presence  of  the  great  soldier  (General  Go 
mez)  who  sits  at  the  head  of  the  table  to-night,  and 
in    the    presence   of    Cuba's   favorite    son,    Senor 
Estrada  Palma,  who  is  to  enjoy  the  honor  of  being 
the  first  chief  executive  of  this  republic. 
(191) 


192  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

The  word  " patriotism"  has  been  translated  into 
every  language  and  its  spirit  has  been  exhibited  to 
•ft  greater  or  less  extent  in  every  land,  but  nowhere 
has  more  patriotism  been  shown  than  in  this  beauti 
ful  isle  of  the  sea,  where  liberty  and  independence 
have  been  purchased  by  so  much  blood  and  sacri 
fice.  You  may  well  be  pardoned  for  feeling  an 
exultation  too  deep  for  expression,  and  in  that 
exultation  my  countrymen  fully  share;  and  yet  I 
would  be  less  than  a  friend  if  I  failed  to  suggest 
that  there  are  victories  before  you  even  greater 
than  the  victories  already  won.  The  work  of  self- 
government  is  a  continuous  work  and  one  that 
taxes  both  the  patience  and  the  energy  of  the 
citizen.  Under  an  arbitrary  government  where  the 
monarch  thinks  and  acts  for  the  subject,  the  sub 
ject  may  be  indifferent  and  indolent,  but  in  a  re 
public  where  the  government  rests  upon  the  con 
sent  of  the  governed  there  is  no  place  for  slothful- 
ness. 

Patriotism  is  a  virtue  which  must  be  displayed 
in  peace  as  well  as  in  war,  and  may  be  denned  as 
that  love  of  country  which  leads  the  citizen  to  give 
to  his  country  that  which  his  country  needs  at  the 
time  his  country  needs  it.  In  time  of  war  the  citi 
zen  may  be  called  upon  to  die  for  his  country;  in 
time  of  peace  he  must  live  for  his  country.  In  time 
of  war  he  may  be  called  upon  to  give  his  body  as  a 
sacrifice ;  in  time  of  peace  his  country  demands  his 
head  and  his  heart,  his  intellect  and  his  conscience. 
You  have  shown  that  you  were  willing  to  lay  down 
your  lives  in  order  to  purchase  liberty,  now  you 
will  be  called  upon  to  exhibit  self-restraint  and 


PATRIOTISM  193 

moral  courage  in  dealing  with  the  problems  of  gov 
ernment. 

It  is  written  that  he  who  ruleth  his  own  spirit  is 
greater  than  he  that  taketh  a  city.  It  is  too  much 
to  expect  that  all  things  will  be  done  as  any  one 
would  like  to  have  them  done  or  that  every  one 
will  receive  the  reward  of  which  he  and  his  friends 
may  think  him  deserving;  arid  in  hours  of  disap 
pointment  it  is  well  to  remember  that  a  person  can 
show  more  patriotism  by  suffering  for  a  great  cause 
than  by  enjoying  great  rewards. 

In  time  of  war  your  island  was  divided  and  there 
was  much  bitterness  between  those  who  fought  for 
independence  and  those  who  supported  the  au 
thority  of  Spain.  Now  that  you  are  about  to  enter 
upon  the  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  of  self-govern 
ment,  it  should  be  your  purpose  to  heal  all  the 
wounds  and  to  unite  the  people  in  a  common  des 
tiny.  If  there  be  those  who  would  prefer  the 
sovereignty  of  Spain  to  an  experiment  in  self-gov 
ernment,  do  not  abuse  them,  but  convert  them  to 
the  doctrines  of  free  government  by  showing  them 
the  superiority  of  a  republic.  It  may  even  be  an 
advantage  to  those  in  power  to  have  some  citizens 
who  are  skeptical  and  ready  to  criticize,  for  it 
will  make  public  officials  more  careful  of  their  con 
duct. 

Jefferson  declares  that  free  government  exists 
in  jealousy  rather  than  in  confidence,  and  it  is 
certainly  true  that  public  servants  are  most  faith 
ful  when  their  acts  are  under  constant  scrutiny. 

One  of  the  questions  with  which  you  will  have 
to  deal  is  that  of  public  education,  and  you  will 


194  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

find  it  of  advantage  to  lay  for  your  republic  a 
broad  and  deep  foundation  by  providing  for  uni 
versal  education.  The  citizen  will  appreciate  the 
advantages  of  free  government  in  proportion  as  his 
mental  horizon  is  enlarged  and  his  capacity  for 
usefulness  increased. 

No  one  is  wise  enough  to  act  as  a  censor  in  mat 
ters  of  education  and  select  those  who  are  to  be 
sent  to  school.  No  one  can  say  upon  which  child 
of  to-day  the  responsibilities  of  the  next  generation 
will  fall,  hence  the  nation  will  find  its  security  in 
fitting  the  largest  possible  number  for  full  partici 
pation  in  all  that  concerns  the  nation's  welfare. 
^You  rejoice  to-night  that  our  nation  is  going  to 
keep  its  promise  and  give  the  world  an  example 
\  of  fidelity  to  a  public  trust,  and  yet  it  is  a  cause 
i  of  congratulation  to  us  as  much  as  to  you,  for  we 
had  more  to  lose  than  you  if  we  failed  to  keep  the 
v^jrtedge  made  at  the  beginning  of  the  Spanish  war. 
I  believe  that  the  citizens  of  our  country  are  as 
happy  as  you  over  the  successful  outcome  of  your 
heroic  struggle;  they  will  rejoice  in  all  the  good 
fortune  that  comes  to  you  and  they  will  grieve  over 
any  mistake  that  you  may  make.'  They  appreciate 
the  gratitude  which  you  express,  but  they  find  their 
reward  in  the  good  they  have  been  able  to  accom 
plish,  for  life's  happiness  is  not  measured  by  the 
gifts  which  one  receives,  but  by  the  contribution 
which  he  makes  to  the  welfare  of  his  fellows. 

Let  me  borrow  a  story  which  has  been  used  to 
illustrate  the  position  of  the  United  States :  A  man 
wended  his  way  through  the  streets  of  a  great  city. 
Unmindful  of  the  merchandise  exposed  on  every 


PATRIOTISM  195 

hand  he  sought  out  a  store  where  birds  were  kept 
for  sale.  Purchasing  bird  after  bird  he  opened  the 
cages  and  allowed  the  feathered  songsters  to  fly 
away.  When  asked  why  he  thus  squandered  his 
money,  he  replied:  "I  was  once  a  captive  myself, 
and  I  find  pleasure  in  setting  even  a  bird  at  lib 
erty/' 

The  United  States  once  went  through  the  strug 
gle  from  which  you  have  just  emerged ;  the  Ameri 
can  people  once  by  the  aid  of  a  friendly  power  won 
a  victory  similar  to  that  which  you  are  now  cele 
brating,  and  our  people  find  gratification  in  help 
ing  to  open  the  door  that  barred  your  way  to  the 
exercise  of  your  political  rights. 

I  have  come  to  witness  the  lowering  of  our  flag 
and  the  raising  of  the  flag  of  the  Cuban  Republic ; 
but  the  event  will  bring  no  humiliation  to  the  peo 
ple  of  my  country,  for  it  is  better  that  the  stars  and 
stripes  should  be  indelibly  imprest  upon  your 
hearts  than  that  they  should  float  above  your  heads. 


II 

IN  LONDON    ON    THANKS 
GIVING  DAY 

Delivered  in  London  at  the  annual  banquet  of  the  Ameri 
can  Society  on  Thanksgiving  Day,  Nov.  26,  1903. 

IT  IS  I  who  have  reason  to  be  grateful  to  the 
American  Society  for  the  opportunity  of  meet 
ing  so  many  of  my  own  countrymen  and  Eng 
lish  men  and  women  who  are  so  like  my  country 
men  that  I  cannot,  looking  down  the  tables,  tell 
which  is  which.  I  am  not  surprized  to  find  that  the 
ladies  of  England  are  so  handsome  as  to  be  taken 
for  Americans,  for  I  have  found  the  ladies  every 
where  handsome  enough  for  the  men,  but  I  have 
been  a  little  surprized  to  find  that  I  could  not  tell 
an  Englishman  from  an  American  on  the  street 
here.  And  as  I  have  a  high  opinion  of  the  Ameri 
can,  I  cannot  have  a  low  opinion  of  the  English 
man. 

It  is  proper  that  I  should  express  my  gratitude 
to-night  for  several  things.  I  am  grateful  to  our 
distinguished  ambassador  for  the  courtesies  he  has 
shown  me,  and  I  have  the  advantage  of  him  in  one 
respect,  I  had  seen  and  heard  him  before.  Once 
when  I  was  in  Washington,  a  young  man  then,  I 
went  into  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States, 
and  heard  a  lawyer  arguing  a  case.  I  was  so  im 
prest  with  the  appearance  of  the  man  and  with 

(196) 


ON  THANKSGIVING  DAY  197 

the  manner  of  his  speech  that  I  inquired  who  this 
lawyer  might  be,  and  was  told  that  it  was  Mr. 
Choate,  of  New  York.  From  that  time  to  this  I 
have  looked  back  to  that  occasion,  and  I  have  never 
found  in  my  country  a  lawyer  who  measured 
higher  than  he  did.  I  am  grateful  to  him  for  his 
kind  words,  altho  in  doing  me  what  he  intended 
for  a  kindness  he  has  somewhat  embarrassed  me, 
and  if  I  were  to  give  full  credit  to  what  he 
has  said  I  am  afraid  I  might  soon  be  like  the 
young  lady  whose  sweetheart  praised  her  until 
she  became  so  vain  that  she  would  not  speak  to 
him. 

This  society,  I  am  informed,  celebrates  two  occa 
sions,  the  Fourth  of  July  and  Thanksgiving  Day. 
On  the  Fourth  of  July  we  celebrate  our  independ 
ence  ;  on  Thanksgiving  Day  we  acknowledge  our  de 
pendence.  And  it  is  proper  that  Mr.  Choate  should 
be  a  conspicuous  figure  on  both  occasions,  because  on 
the  Fourth  of  July  we  boast  of  what  we  have  done, 
and  on  Thanksgiving  Day  we  feel  grateful  for  what 
we  have  received,  and  we  are  both  proud  of,  and 
grateful  for,  Ambassador  Choate.  On  the  Fourth 
of  July  the  eagle  seems  a  little  larger  than  it  does 
on  any  other  day,  and  its  scream  may  grate  more 
harshly  on  the  foreign  ear  than  it  does  at  any 
other  time.  But  on  this  day  we  cultivate  rever 
ence  and  express  our  appreciation  of  those  bless 
ings  that  have  come  to  our  country  without  the 
thought  or  aid  of  Americans.  We  have  reason  to 
look  with  some  degree  of  pride  upon  the  achieve 
ment  of  the  United  States;  we  contemplate  the 
present  with  satisfaction,  and  look  to  the  future 


198  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

with  hope;  and  yet  on  this  occasion  we  may  well 
remember  that  we  are  but  building  upon  the  foun 
dations  that  have  been  laid  for  us.  We  did  not 
create  the  fertile  soil  that  is  the  basis  of  our  agri 
cultural  greatness ;  the  streams  that  drain  and  feed 
our  valleys  were  not  channelled  by  human  hands. 
We  did  not  fashion  the  climate  that  gives  us  the 
white  cotton  belt  of  the  south,  the  yellow  wheat  belt 
of  the  north,  and  the  central  corn  belt  that  joins 
the  two  and  overlaps  them  both.  We  do  not 
gather  up  the  moisture  and  fix  the  date  of  the 
early  and  later  rains;  we  did  not  hide  away  in 
the  mountains  the  gold  and  the  silver;  we  did  not 
store  in  the  earth  the  deposits  of  copper  and  of 
zinc;  we  did  not  create  the  measures  of  coal  and 
the  beds  of  iron.  All  these  natural  resources, 
which  we  have  but  commenced  to  develop,  are  the 
gift  of  Him  before  v/hom  we  bow  in  gratitude  to 
night. 

Nor  are  we  indebted  to  the  Heavenly  Father 
alone,  for  we  have  received  much  from  those  who 
are  separated  from  us  by  the  Atlantic.  If  we  have 
great  and  flourishing  industries  we  must  not  forget 
that  every  nation  in  Europe  has  sent  us  its  trained 
and  skilled  artizans.  If  we  have  made  intellectual 
progress,  we  must  remember  that  those  who  crossed 
the  ocean  as  pioneers  brought  with  them  their  in 
telligence  and  their  desire  for  learning.  Even  our 
religion  is  not  of  American  origin.  Like  you,  we 
laid  the  foundations  of  our  church  in  the  Holy 
Land,  and  those  who  came  in  the  Mayflower  and 
in  other  ships  brought  a  love  of  religious  liberty. 
Free  speech,  which  has  been  developed  in  our 


ON  THANKSGIVING  DAY  199 

country,  and  which  we  prize  so  much,  is  not  of 
American  origin.  Since  I  have  been  here  I  have 
been  profoundly  imprest  with  the  part  that  Eng 
lishmen  have  taken  in  establishing  the  right  of  free 
speech.  And  I  may  say  that  before  I  came  to  this 
country  the  thing  that  most  challenged  my  admira 
tion  in  the  Englishman  was  his  determination  to 
make  his  opinion  known  when  he  had  an  opinion 
that  he  thought  should  be  given  to  the  world.  Pass 
ing  through  the  Bank  of  England,  to  which  my 
friend,  the  ambassador,  has  referred,  my  attention 
was  called  to  a  protest  that  Admiral  Cochrane 
wrote  upon  the  bank  note  with  which  he  paid  the 
thousand  pounds  fine  that  had  been  assessed 
against  him.  I  was  interested  in  that  protest  be 
cause  it  showed  a  fearlessness  that  indicates  the 
possibilities  of  the  race.  Let  me  read  what  he  said : 
"My  health  having  suffered  by  long  and  close  con 
finement,  and  my  oppressors  having  resolved  to 
deprive  me  of  property  or  life,  I  submit  to  rob 
bery  to  protect  myself  from  murder  in  the  hope 
that  I  shall  live  to  bring  the  delinquents  to  jus 
tice." 

That  is  the  spirit  that  moves  the  world!  There 
was  a  man  in  prison.  He  must  pay  his  fine  in  order 
to  gain  his  liberty.  He  believed  the  action  of  the 
court  unjust.  He  knew  that  if  he  stayed  there  he 
would  lose  his  life  and  lose  the  chance  for  vindica 
tion,  and  yet,  as  he  was  going  forth  from  the  prison 
doors,  he  did  not  go  with  bowed  head  or  cringing, 
but  flung  his  protest  in  the  face  of  his  oppressors, 
and  told  them  he  submitted  to  robbery  to  protect 
his  life  in  the  hope  that,  having  escaped  from  their 


200  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

hands,  he  might  bring  them  to  justice.  I  like  that 
in  the  Englishman,  and  during  my  short  knowl 
edge  of  public  affairs  I  have  looked  across  the 
ocean  and  admired  the  moral  courage  and  the  man 
liness  of  those  Englishmen  who  have  dared  to 
stand  out  against  overwhelming  odds  and  assert 
their  opinions  before  the  world. 

We  sometimes  feel  that  we  have  a  sort  of  pro 
prietary  interest  in  the  principles  of  government 
set  forth  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  That 
is  a  document  which  we  have  given  to  the  world, 
and  yet  the  principles  set  forth  therein  were  not 
invented  by  an  American.  Thomas  Jefferson  ex- 
prest  them  in  felicitous  language  and  put  them 
into  permanent  form,  but  the  principles  had  been 
known  before.  The  doctrine  that  all  men  are  cre 
ated  equal,  that  they  are  endowed  with  inalien 
able  rights,  that  governments  were  instituted 
amongst  men  to  secure  these  rights,  and  that  they 
derived  their  just  power  from  the  consent  of  the 
governed — this  doctrine  which  stands  four  square 
with  all  the  world  was  not  conceived  in  the  United 
States,  it  did  not  spring  from  the  American  mind 
— ay,  it  did  not  come  so  much  from  any  mind  as  it 
was  an  emanation  from  the  heart,  and  it  had  been 
in  the  hearts  of  men  for  ages.  Before  Columbus 
turned  the  prow  of  his  ship  toward  the  west  on 
that  eventful  voyage,  before  the  Barons  wrested 
Magna  Charta  from  King  John — yes.  before  the 
Roman  legions  landed  on  the  shores  of  this  island 
— ay,  before  Homer  sang — that  sentiment  had 
nestled  in  the  heart  of  man,  and  nerved  him  to 
resist  the  oppressor.  That  sentiment  was  not  even 


ON  THANKSGIVING  DAY  201 

of  human  origin.  Our  own  great  Lincoln  declared 
that  it  was  God  Himself  who  implanted  in  every 
human  heart  the  love  of  liberty. 

Yes,  when  God  created  man,  He  gave  him  life. 
He  linked  to  life  the  love  of  liberty,  and  what  God 
hath  joined  together  let  no  man  put  asunder.  We 
have  received  great  blessings  from  God  and  from 
all  the  world,  and  what  is  our  duty?  We  cannot 
make  return  to  those  from  whom  those  gifts  were 
received.  It  is  not  in  our  power  to  make  return 
to  the  Father  above.  Nor  can  we  make  return  to 
those  who  have  sacrificed  so  much  for  our  advance 
ment.  The  child  can  never  make  full  return  to 
the  mother  whose  life  trembled  in  the  balance  at 
its  birth,  and  whose  kindness  and  care  guarded  it 
in  all  the  years  of  infancy.  The  student  cannot 
make  full  return  to  the  teacher  who  awakened  the 
mind,  and  aroused  an  ambition  for  a  broader  in 
tellectual  life.  The  adult  cannot  make  full  return 
to  the  patriarch  whose  noble  life  gave  inspiration 
and  incentive.  So  a  generation  cannot  make  re 
turn  to  the  generation  gone;  it  must  make  its  re 
turn  to  the  generations  to  come.  Our  nation  must 
discharge  its  debt  not  to  the  dead,  but  to  the  liv 
ing.  How  can  our  country  discharge  this  great 
debt?  In  but  one  way,  and  that  is  by  giving  to 
the  world  something  equal  in  value  to  that  which 
it  has  received  from  the  world.  And  what  is  the 
greatest  gift  that  man  can  bestow  upon  man  ?  Feed 
a  man  and  he  will  hunger  again;  give  him  cloth 
ing  and  his  clothing  will  wear  out ;  but  give  him  a 
noble  ideal,  and  that  ideal  will  be  with  him 
through  every  waking  hour,  lifting  him  to  a  higher 

II  14 


202  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

plane  of  life,  and  giving  him  a  broader  conception 
of  his  relations  to  his  fellows. 

I  know,  therefore,  of  no  greater  service  that  my 
country  can  render  to  the  world  than  to  furnish  to 
the  world  the  highest  ideal  that  the  world  has 
known.  That  ideal  must  be  so  far  above  us  that 
it  will  keep  us  looking  upward  all  our  lives,  and 
so  far  in  advance  of  us  that  we  shall  never  over 
take  it.  I  know  of  no  better  illustration  of  an  ideal 
life  than  the  living  spring,  pouring  forth  con 
stantly  of  that  which  refreshes  and  invigorates — 
no  better  illustration  of  a  worthless  life  than  the 
stagnant  pool  which  receives  contribution  from  all 
the  land  around  and  around  and  gives  forth  noth 
ing.  Our  nation  must  make  a  large  contribution  to 
the  welfare  of  the  world,  and  it  is  no  reflection 
upon  those  who  have  gone  before  to  say  that  we 
ought  to  do  better  than  they  have  done.  We  would 
not  meet  the  responsibilities  of  to-day  if  we  did 
not  build  still  higher  the  social  structure  to  which 
they  devoted  their  lives. 

I  visited  the  Tower  of  London  to-day  and  saw 
upon  the  wall  a  strange  figure.  It  was  made  of 
swords,  ramrods,  and  bayonets,  and  was  fashioned 
into  the  form  of  a  flower.  Someone  had  put  a 
card  on  it  and  aptly  named  it  the  passion  flower — 
and  it  has  been  too  often  the  international  flower. 
But  the  world  has  made  progress.  No  longer  do 
ambition  and  avarice  furnish  a  sufficient  excuse 
for  war.  The  world  has  made  progress,  and  to-day 
you  cannot  justify  bloodshed  except  in  defense  of 
a  right  already  ascertained,  and  then  only  when  all 
peaceable  means  have  been  exhausted.  The  world 


ON  THANKSGIVING  DAY  203 

has  made  progress.  We  have  reached  a  point 
where  we  respect  not  the  man  who  will  die  to  se 
cure  some  pecuniary  advantages,  but  the  man  who 
will  die  in  defense  of  his  rights.  We  admire  the 
courage  of  the  man  who  is  willing  to  die  in  de 
fense  of  his  rights,  but  there  is  yet  before  us  a 
higher  ground.  Is  he  great  who  will  die  in  defense 
of  his  rights?  There  is  yet  to  come  the  greater 
man — the  man  who  will  die  rather  than  trespass 
upon  the  rights  of  another.  Hail  to  the  nation 
whatever  its  name  may  be  that  leads  the  world 
towards  the  realization  of  this  higher  ideal.  I  am 
glad  that  we  now  recognize  that  there  is  something 
more  powerful  than  physical  force,  and  no  one  has 
stated  it  better  than  Carlyle.  He  said  that 
thought  was  stronger  than  artillery  parks,  and  at 
last  molded  the  world  like  soft  clay;  that  behind 
thought  was  love,  and  that  there  never  was  a  wise 
head  that  had  not  behind  it  a  generous  heart. 

The  world  is  coming  to  understand  that  armies 
and  navies,  however  numerous  and  strong,  are  im 
potent  to  stop  thought.  Thought  inspired  by  love 
will  yet  rule  the  world.  I  am  glad  that  there  is  a 
national  product  more  valuable  than  gold  or  silver, 
more  valuable  than  cotton  or  wheat  or  corn  or  iron 
• — an  ideal.  That  is  a  merchandise — if  I  may  call  it 
such —  that  moves  freely  from  country  to  country. 
You  cannot  vex  it  with  an  export  tax  or  hinder  it 
with  an  import  tariff.  It  is  greater  than  legisla 
tors,  and  rises  triumphant  over  the  machinery  of 
government.  In  the  rivalry  to  present  the  best 
ideal  to  the  world,  love,  not  hatred,  will  control; 
and  I  am  glad  that  on  this  Thanksgiving  Day  I  can 


204  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

meet  my  countrymen  and  their  friends  here  assem 
bled,  return  thanks  for  what  my  country  has  re 
ceived,  thanks  for  the  progress  that  the  world  has 
made,  and  contemplate  with  joy  the  coming  of  that 
day  when  the  rivalry  between  nations  will  be,  not 
to  see  which  can  injure  the  other  most,  but  to  show 
which  can  hold  highest  the  light  that  guides  the 
footsteps  of  the  human  race  to  higher  ground. 
(Loud  and  prolonged  cheers.) 


Ill 

RADICAL  AND   CONSERVATIVE 

Delivered  in  Tokyo,  Japan,  in  October,  1905,  at  a  dinner 
given  by  Ambassador  Griscom,  at  which  Count  Ito,  the 
leader  of  the  Conservative  party,  and  Count  Okuma,  leader 
of  the  Radical  party,  were  present. 

I  HAVE  been  admonished  that  I  would  be  ex 
pected  to  say  something  in  acknowledging  this 
very  generous  toast,  but  I  hardly  know  what 
to  say.  I  was  a  cautious  man  before  I  came  to 
Japan,  but  I  have  learned  here  an  additional  cau 
tion.  I  bought  the  three  Xikko  monkeys,  carved  in 
wood,  and  I  understand  that  they  represent  a  very 
important  philosophy;  i.  e.,  that  the  wise  man  sees 
nothing  that  he  ought  not  to  see ;  hears  nothing 
that  he  ought  not  to  hear;  and  says  nothing  that 
he  ought  not  to  say.  I  have  not  worried  about  the 
first  two,  for  I  have  not  expected  to  hear  anything 
that  I  ought  not  to  hear,  or  to  see  anything  that  I 
ought  not  to  see.  but  I  have  kept  my  eye  on  the 
third  monkey,  and  have  tried  to  be  circumspect  in 
all  my  ways  and  cautious  in  all  my  utterances,  but 
I  cannot  forbear  to  submit  a  word  in  reply  to  the 
very  kind  things  which  have  been.  said. 

I  appreciate  the  opportunity  that  our  minister 
has  given  us  to  meet  the  distinguished  people  who 
are  assembled  around  this  board.  I  appreciate 
also  the  dignity  and  ability  with  which  he  repre 
sents  my  country.  When  I  go  abroad  and  meet 
Republicans  in  the  foreign  service  I  am  satisfied 
(205) 


206  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

that,  whatever  may  be  the  character  of  the  Repub 
licans  left  at  home,  good  men  have  been  sent 
abroad,  and  I  feel  like  suggesting  that  when  we 
have  any  more  contests  they  make  a  fair  exchange 
and  send  away  the  ones  who  have  been  left  at 
home  and  bring  back  those  who  are  away.  As  I 
meet  these  learned,  courteous  and  kindly  Republi 
cans,  and  as  I  receive  such  hospitable  treatment  at 
their  hands,  I  feel  all  the  old  animosity  disappear 
ing  and  I  am,  to-night,  much  in  the  attitude  of  a 
young  man,  of  whom  I  heard,  who  courted  his  girl 
for  a  year  before  he  had  the  courage  to  propose 
to  her.  He  finally  summoned  up  sufficient  courage 
to  tell  her  that  he  loved  her,  and  asked  her  to 
marry  him.  Being  a  very  frank  girl,  she  replied, 
"I  have  loved  you,  Jim,  for  many  months  and 
have  only  been  waiting  for  you  to  tell  me  so  that 
I  could  tell  you."  Of  course,  Jim  was  delighted — 
so  delighted  that  he  went  to  the  door  and,  looking 

(up  at  the  stars,  exclaimed,  "0  Lord,  I  hain't  got 
anything  against  anybody."  I  feel  that  way  to- 
/  night,  and  this  is  not  only  true  in  a  political  sense, 
not  only  true  of  my  feeling  towards  Republicans, 
but  I  think  that  as  I  come  into  contact  with  the  peo 
ple  of  other  nations  and  races,  I  come  to  feel  a 
closer  attachment  to  them  than  I  could  have  felt 
had  I  not  met  them.  I  am  more  and  more  imprest 
with  the  broadening  influence  of  traveling.  As  we 
visit  different  countries  we  learn  that  people  every 
where,  no  matter  through  what  language  they 
speak,  or  under  what  form  of  government  they  live, 
are  much  the  same.  We  find  that  the  things 
that  we  hold  in  common  are  more  important  and 


RADICAL  AND  CONSERVATIVE      207 

more  numerous  than  the  smaller  things  which 
separate  us. 

I  consider  it  a  great  privilege  to  meet  the  dis 
tinguished  citizens  of  Japan.  I  would  be  confess 
ing  my  own  ignorance  of  the  world's  politics  if  I 
did  not  know  by  name  and  by  history  the  illus 
trious  men  of  this  great  island,  and  to-night  I  have 
the  pleasure  of  sitting  at  the  board  with  two  of  the 
men  of  whom  I  have  often  heard.  One,  Marquis 
Ito,  sits  at  my  right.  He  will  go  doAvn  in  history 
as  the  builder  of  a  great  constitution ;  his  fame  will 
increase  with  the  ages  until  he  shall  be  known 
throughout  the  world  as  our  own  great  Jefferson 
is  known  because  of  his  connection  with  the  Dec 
laration  of  Independence. 

I  am  glad  also  that  there  is  in  this  gathering  an 
other  man.  Count  Okuma,  distinguished  in  politics 
and  in  education,  and  who  yesterday  so  kindly  en 
tertained  me  in  his  home  and  gave  me  the  oppor 
tunity  of  looking  into  the  faces  of  the  students 
assembled  in  the  school  of  which  he  is  the  patron 
saint. 

I  am  glad  that  at  this  board  we  have  these  two 
men,  the  marquis  and  the  count,  who  represent  so 
fully  the  aspirations  and  the  breadth  of  thought 
in  this  country.  I  speak  of  these  men,  not  that  I 
forget  the  other  distinguished  persons  present,  but 
because  these  two  represent  the  parties  of  which 
they  are  the  acknowledged  leaders.  I  believe  that 
it  is  necessary  that  there  shall  be  conflicting  parties 
in  every  great  and  growing  nation.  Show  me  a 
nation  where  there  is  no  dispute,  where  there  is  no 
discussion,  where  there  is  no  conflict  of  thought,  and 


208  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

I  will  show  you  a  nation  that  has  more  death  than 
life.  The  moving  waters  are  the  pure  waters;  the 
stagnant  waters  soon  become  poisonous.  It  is  a 
good  sign  to  find  men  contending  for  the  prin 
ciples  in  which  they  believe,  and  it  increases  my 
confidence  in  a  nation  when  I  find  men  of  spirit 
who  think  and  have  the  courage  to  speak  their 
thoughts. 

We  have  found  many  things  of  interest  in  this 
country,  but  Mrs.  Bryan  and  I  have  been  espe 
cially  interested  in  what  they  call  the  Korean 
lions.  I  do  not  know  whether  the  other  Ameri 
cans  have  been  imprest  by  these,  but  we  are  firmly 
determined  to  take  two  Korean  lions  home  with 
us  (if  we  can  secure  a  pair)  and  put  them  as  a 
guard  in  front  of  our  house.  Now,  the  Korean 
lions  are  interesting  for  several  reasons,  and  one 
of  the  most  important  is  that  they  represent  the 
affirmative  and  the  negative.  I  noticed  to-day  that 
one  of  them  had  his  mouth  open  as  tho  he  were 
saying  "yes,"  and  the  other  had  his  mouth  tightly 
closed  as  if  he  had  just  said  "no."  Both  the 
affirmative  and  the  negative  are  necessary.  You 
find  everywhere  the  radical  and  the  conservative. 
Both  are  essential  in  a  progressive  state.  The  con 
servative  is  necessary  to  keep  the  radical  from 
going  too  far,  and  the  radical  is  necessary  to  make 
the  conservative  go  at  all.  One  is  as  necessary  to 
the  welfare  of  the  nation  as  the  other.  There  must 
be  a  party  in  power,  and  there  must  be  a  party 
out  of  power,  altho  I  think  that,  for  convenience 
sake,  they  ought  to  change  places  occasionally. 
When  a  party  goes  into  power  it  is  apt  to  be  more 


RADICAL  AND  CONSERVATIVE       209 

conservative  than  when  out  of  power,  and  when  a 
party  goes  out  of  power  it  is  likely  to  become  more 
radical.  I  might  give  a  number  of  reasons  for  it. 
In  the  first  place,  responsibility  tends  to  make  a 
party  more  deliberate — it  sobers  it.  Then,  too,  a 
party  that  is  defeated  often  learns  from  the  victor 
how  to  win,  and  sometimes  the  successful  party 
learns  from  the  defeated  one. 

Time  modifies  parties  and  the  Korean  lions  illus 
trate  this  also.  They  have  come  down  from  Baby 
lonian  times  and  each  nation  seems  to  have  added 
something.  So  with  both  the  conservative  and  the 
radical  parties.  These  parties  will  change  from 
time  to  time  as  they  pass  through  various  nations, 
and  as  they  pass  through  various  generations,  for 
what  is  an  affirmative  party  to-day  may  be  a  nega 
tive  party  to-morrow.  Having  accomplished  one 
reform,  it  may  hesitate  to  undertake  another,  and 
finally  give  way  to  a  more  courageous  party. 

A  great  American  philosopher,  Emerson,  has  said 
that  the  dreams  of  one  generation  become  the  ac 
cepted  facts  of  the  next.  All  the  parties  feel  the 
influence  of  this  contact  with  public  opinion.  I  re 
peat  that  I  am  glad  that  I  am  permitted  by  the 
kindness  of  Minister  Griscom  to  meet  about  this 
board  the  two  leaders  to  whom  I  have  referred. 
Each  is  a  help  to  the  other.  Neither  would  be  as 
strong  without  the  other  to  stimulate  him.  We 
help  each  other  in  this  way. 

I  have  also  learned  to  hold  in  high  esteem  His 
Majesty  the  Emperor,  and  I  might  give  you  two 
reasons  for  it.  First,  I  have  been  drawn  to  him  in 
a  most  tender  way,  by  finding  that  when  he  selected 


210  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

a  chrysanthemum  to  represent  royalty  he  gave  it 
sixteen  petals,  thus  recognizing  the  familiar  ratio 
of  sixteen  to  one.  Second,  and  most  important, 
because  he  has  had  the  wisdom  to  give  to  his  people 
constitutional  government  and  other  blessings 
which  in  too  many  countries  have  been  secured  only 
by  the  employment  of  force. 

I  am  glad  that  I  have  thus  had  an  opportunity 
to  meet  and  become  acquainted  with  the  people  of 
this  island,  and  I  appreciate  most  heartily  the  hos 
pitality  they  have  shown  us.  I  am  not  vain  enough 
to  assume  that  it  is  in  any  large  degree  a  personal 
tribute.  I  recognize  and  accept  it  rather  as  an  in 
dication  of  the  general  good-will  they  entertain 
towards  the  country  of  which  I  am  but  an  humble 
citizen.  The  sincerity  of  this  expression  of  good 
will  has  imprest  me.  It  has  beamed  forth  from  the 
eyes  of  students  and  been  felt  in  the  hand-clasp.  I 
have  beheld  it  everywhere,  and  I  shall  be  glad  to 
tell  my  people  when  I  return  home  that  the  people 
of  Japan  reciprocate  the  friendly  feeling  that  is 
entertained  towards  Japan  by  the  people  in  our 
country.  I  am  going  to  insist  that  more  Americans 
come  to  Japan  and  I  hope  that  more  Japanese  will 
visit  our  country.  This  exchange  will  teach  us  both 
to  know  each  other  better  and  I  am  satisfied  that  we 
will  find,  as  we  always  find,  that  acquaintance  re 
moves  to  a  large  degree  the  differences  between 
men  and  nations.  I  will  promise  those  who  hear 
me  to-night,  that  whenever  there  is  a  question 
between  America  and  Japan  I  shall  be  a  better 
friend  of  Japan's  than  I  have  been  in  the  past,  if 
that  is  possible,  because  I  think  I  understand  the 


RADICAL  AND  CONSERVATIVE       211 

country  better  than  I  ever  could  have  understood 
it  without  meeting  the  people  of  Japan.  I  can  be 
more  proud  of  your  history  and  share  more 
fully  in  your  anticipations  of  a  still  more  glorious 
future. 


IV 
THE  WHITE  MAN'S  BURDEN 

Delivered  at  the  annual  banquet  of  the  American  Society 
in  London  on  July  4,  1906. 

REMEMBERING,  as  I  do  with  great  pleasure, 
the  evening  which  I  spent  with  this  so 
ciety  on  Thanksgiving  Day  two  years  and 
a  half  ago,  I  was  glad  indeed  that  I  was  able  to 
accept  the  invitation  extended  on  the  part  of  this 
society  by  our  distinguished  ambassador,  the  Hon. 
Whitelaw  Reid.  It  gives  me  great  satisfaction  to  be 
able  to  look  into  the  faces  of  so  many  of  my  coun 
trymen  and  of  those  who  speak  our  language.  The 
only  sad  feature  of  the  day  is  that  it  follows  so 
closely  upon  the  terrible  accident  that  has  kept 
some  Americans  from  this  banquet  hall,  and  I  am 
sure  we  will  appreciate  the  very  kindly  expressions 
of  sympathy  which  have  been  read  this  evening. 
Death  is  at  no  time  a  welcome  guest,  but  it  can 
never  be  so  unwelcome  as  when  it  comes  not  only 
suddenly,  as  it  did  in  this  case,  but  when  those 
taken  are  far  from  the  friends  who  are  near  and 
dear  to  them. 

I  appreciate  the  kind  words  spoken  by  our  am 
bassador,  and  I  can  almost  wish  that  he  had  said 
enough  of  a  political  nature  to  justify  me  in  mak 
ing  a  political  speech.  It  has  been  now  nearly  ten 
months  since  I  had  the  chance  to  make  one,  and 
you  can  understand  what  self-restraint  it  requires 

(212) 


THE  WHITE  MJfN'S  BURDEN         213 

to  pass  by  this  opportunity.  Not  even  his  men 
tion  of  gold  will  draw  me  into  politics,  altho  I 
might  say  that  if  our  country  has  done  so  well 
walking  on  one  leg,  what  progress  she  would  have 
made  if  she  had  but  had  two.  The  American  am 
bassador  has  referred  to  the  fact  that  in  our  coun 
try  he  has  felt  it  necessary  to  oppose  some  things 
that  I  have  said.  I  can  testify  that  he  has  not 
only  done  so,  but  that  he  has  done  it  well;  and 
remembering  how  much  better  he  acts  abroad  than 
at  home,  I  can  assure  you  that  no  American  rejoices 
more  than  I  that  he  is  3,000  miles  away  from  his 
field  of  influence.  In  a  trip  of  some  months  I 
have  met  a  number  of  Republican  office-holders.  I 
have  found  them  good  men,  and  I  sometimes  wish 
that  we  had  enough  offices  to  take  all  the  Republi 
cans  out  of  the  United  States.  But  I  cannot  be 
tempted  to  deviate  from  the  course  which  I  laid 
out  for  myself,  and  I  am  going  to  ask  your  indul 
gence  while  I  present  some  thoughts  that  I  feel 
may  possibly  be  worthy  of  consideration  here. 

Our  English  friends,  under  whose  flag  we  meet 
tonight,  recalling  that  this  is  the  anniversary  of 
our  nation's  birth,  would  doubtless  pardon  us  if 
our  rejoicing  contained  something  of  self -congratu 
lation,  for  it  is  at  such  a  time  as  this  that  we  are 
wont  to  review  those  national  achievements  which 
have  given  to  the  United  States  its  prominence 
among  the  nations.  But  I  hope  I  shall  not  be 
thought  lacking  in  patriotic  spirit  if,  instead  of 
drawing  a  picture  of  the  past,  bright  with  heroic 
deeds  and  unparalleled  in  progress,  I  summon  you 
rather  to  a  serious  consideration  of  the  responsi- 


214  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

bility  resting  upon  those  nations  which  aspire  to 
premiership.  This  line  of  thought  is  suggested  by 
a  sense  of  propriety  as  well  as  by  recent  experi 
ences — by  a  sense  of  propriety  because  such  a  sub 
ject  will  interest  the  Briton  as  well  as  the  Ameri 
can,  and  by  recent  experiences  because  they  have 
imprest  me  not  less  with  our  national  duty  than 
with  the  superiority  of  western  over  eastern  civili 
zation. 

Asking  your  attention  to  such  a  theme,  it  is  not 
unfitting  to  adopt  a  phrase  coined  by  a  poet  to 
whom  America  as  well  as  England  can  lay  some 
claim,  and  take  for  my  text  "The  White  Man's 
Burden:" 

/"Take  up  the  White  Man's  burden — 

In  patience  to  abide, 
I  To  veil  the  threat  of  terror 
i      And  check  the  show  of  pride. 
I  By  open  speech  and  simple, 
\      An  hundred  times  made  plain, 

\To  seek  another's  profit, 

\  And  work  another's  gain." 

Thus  sings  Kipling,  and,  with  the  exception  of 
the  third  line  (of  the  meaning  of  which  I  am  not 
quite  sure),  the  stanza  embodies  the  thought  whicli, 
is  uppermost  in  my  mind  to-night.     No  one  ca 
travel  among  the  dark-skinned  races  of~the  Orienl 
without  feeling  that  the  white  man  occupies  ai 
especially  favored  position  among  the  children 
men,   and  the  recognition  of  this  fact  is  acconj- 
plished  by  the  conviction  that  there  is  a  duty  ii 
separably,  connected  with  the  advantages  enjoyei 
There  is  a  white  man's  burden — a  burden  which 
the  white  man  should  not  shirk  even  if  he  could, 


THE  WHITE  MAN'S  BURDEN         215 

a  burden  which  he  could  not  shirk  even  if  he 
would.  That  no  one  liveth  unto  himself  or  dieth 
unto  himself  has  a  national  as  well  as  an  individual 
application;  our  destinies  are  so  interwoven  that 
each  exerts  an  influence  directly  or  indirectly  upon 
all  others. 

Sometimes  this  influence  is  unconsciously  ex 
erted,  as  when,  for  instance,  the  good  or  bad  pre 
cedent  set  by  one  nation  in  dealing  with  its  own 
affairs  is  followed  by  some  other  nation.  Some 
times  the  influence  is  incidentally  exerted,  as  whenf  / 
for  example,  a  nation  in  the  extension  of  its  com 
merce,  introduces  its  language  among,  and  en 
larges  the  horizon  of,  the  people  with  whom  it 
trades.  This  incidental  benefit  conferred  by  the 
opening  of  new  markets  must  be  apparent  to  any 
one  who  has  watched  the  stimulating  influence  of  ; 
the  new  ideas  which  have  been  introduced  into  Asia 
andAfrjc,a.  through  the.  medium  of  the  English  lan 
guage.  This  is  not  only  the  mother  tongue  of  very 
many  of  the  world's  leaders  in  religion,  statesman 
ship,  science  and  literature,  but  it  has  received, 
through  translation,  the  best  that  has  been  written 
and  spoken  in  other  countries.  He  who  learns  this 
language,  therefore,  is  like  one  who  lives  upon  a 
great  highway  where  he  comes  into  daily  contact 
with  the  world.  Without  disparaging  other  mod 
ern  languages,  it  may  be  said  with  truth  that 
whether  one  travels  abroad  or  studies  at  home 
there  is  no  other  language  so  useful  at  the  present 
time  as  that  which  we  employ  at  this  banquet 
board,  and  the  nation  which  is  instrumental  in 
spreading  this  language  confers  an  inestimable 


216  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

boon,  even  tho  the  conferring  of  it  be  not  included 
in  its  general  purpose.  England  has  rendered  this 
service  to  the  people  of  India,  and  the  United 
States  is  rendering  the  same  service  to  the  people 
of  the  Philippines,  while  both  England  and  the 
United  States  have  been  helpful  to  Japan  and 
China  in  this  way. 

But  the  advanced  nations  cannot  content  them 
selves  with  the  conferring  of  incidental  benefits ;  if 
they  would  justify  their  leadership  they  must  put 
forth  conscious  and  constant  effort  for  the  promo 
tion  of  the  welfare  of  the  nations  which  lag  behind. 
Incidental  benefits  may  follow,  even  tho  the  real 
purpose  of  a  nation  be  a  wholly  selfish  one,  for  as 
the  sale  of  Joseph  into  Egypt  resulted  in  blessings 
to  his  family  and  to  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs,  so 
captives  taken  in  war  have  sometimes  spread  civili 
zation,  and  blacks  carried  away  into  slavery  have 
been  improved  by  contact  with  the  whites.  But 
nations  cannot  afford  to  do  evil  in  the  hope  that 
Providence  will  transmute  the  evil  into  good  and 
bring  blessings  out  of  sin.  Nations,  if  they  would 
be  great  in  the  better  sense  of  the  term,  must  in 
tend  benefit  as  well  as  confer  it;  they  must  plan 
advantage,  and  not  leave  the  results  to  chance. 

I  take  it  for  granted  that  our  duty  to  the  so- 
called  inferior  races  is  not  discharged  by  merely 
feeding  them  in  times  of  famine,  or  by  contributing 
to  their  temporary  support  when  some  other  ca 
lamity  overtakes  them.  A  much  greater  assistance 
is  rendered  them  when  they  are  led  to  a  more  ele 
vated  plane  of  thought  and  activity  by  ideals  which 
(stimulate  them  to  self-development.  The  improve- 


THE  WHITE  MAN'S  BURDEN         217 

ment  of  the  people  themselves  should  be  the  para 
mount  object  in  all  intercourse  with  the  Orient. 

Among  the  blessings  which  the  Christian  nations 
are  at  this  time  able  —  and  because  able,  in  duty 
bound  —  to  carry  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  I  may 
mention  five:  education,  knowledge  of  the  science 
tration  as  a  suDstitnie  for  war, 


anc    a  high 
conception  of  life. 

Education  comes  first,  and  in  nothing  have  the 
United  States  and  England  been  more  clearly  help 
ful  than  in  the  advocacy  of  universal  education. 
If  the  designs  of  God  are  disclosed  by  His  handi 
work,  then  the  creation  of  the  human  mind  is  in 
dubitable  proof  that  the  Almighty  never  intended 
that  learning  should  be  monopolized  by  a  few,  and 
he  arrays  himself  against  the  plans  of  Jehovah 
who  would  deny  intellectual  training  to  any  part 
of  the  human  race.  It  is  a  false  civilization,  not  a 
true  one,  that  countenances  the  permanent  separa 
tion  of  society  into  two  distinct  classes,  the  one 
encouraged  to  improve  the  mind  and  the  other 
condemned  to  hopeless  ignorance.  Equally  false  is 
that  conception  of  international  politics  which 
would  make  the  prosperity  of  one  nation  depend 
upon  the  exploitation  of  another.  While  no  one  is 
farsighted  enough  to  estimate  with  accuracy  the  re 
mote,  or  even  the  immediate,  consequences  of  hu 
man  action,  yet  as  we  can  rely  upon  the  principle 
that  as  each  individual  profits  rather  than  loses  by 
the  progress  and  prosperity  of  his  neighbors,  so  we 
cannot  doubt  that  it  is  to  the  advantage  of  each 
nation  that  every  other  nation  shall  make  the  lar- 

II  15 


BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

gest  possible  use  of  its  own  resources  and  the  capa 
bilities  of  its  people. 

No  one  questions  that  Japan's  influence  has  been 
a  beneficent  one  since  she  has  emerged  from  illiter 
acy  and  endowed  her  people  with  public  schools 
open  to  all  her  boys  and  girls.  The  transition  from 
a  position  of  obscurity  into  a  world  power  was 
scarcely  more  rapid  than  her  change  from  a  me 
nace  into  an  ally.  China  is  entering  upon  a  similar 
experience,  and  I  am  confident  that  her  era  of  re 
form  will  make  her,  not  a  yellow  peril,  but  a  pow 
erful  co-laborer  in  the  international  vineyard.  In 
India,  in  the  Philippines,  in  Egypt,  and  even  in 
Turkey,  statistics  show  a  gradual  extension  of  edu 
cation,  and  I  trust  I  shall  be  pardoned  if  I  say  that 
neither  the  armies  nor  the  navies,  nor  yet  the  com 
merce  of  our  nations,  have  given  us  so  just  a  claim 
to  the  gratitude  of  the  people  of  Asia  as  have  our 
school  teachers,  sent,  many  of  them,  by  private 
rather  than  by  public  funds, 

English  language  has  become  the  vehicle 
of  governmental  truth  even 
more  than  for  the  spread  of  general  information, 
for, ,v  beginning  with  Magna  Chart  a,  and  continuing 
through  the  era  of  the  American  revolution  and  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  down  to  the  present, 
no  other  language  has  been  so  much  employed  for 
the  propagation  of  that  theory  of  government 
which  traces  authority  to  the  consent  of  the  gov 
erned.  Our  own  nation  presents  the  most  illus 
trious  example  known  to  history  of  a  great  popula 
tion  working  out  its  destiny  through  laws  of  its 
own  making,  and  under  officials  of  its  own  choos- 


THE  WHITE  MAN'S  BURDEN        219 

ing,  altho,  I  may  add,  we  scarcely  go  beyond  Eng 
land  in  recognizing  the  omnipotence  of  a  parlia 
ment  fresh  from  the  people.  It  is  difficult  to  over 
estimate  the  potency  of  this  conception  of  govern 
ment  upon  the  progress  of  a  nation,  and,  in  turn 
ing  the  thought  of  the  world  away  from  despotism 
to  the  possibilities  of  self-government,  the  pioneers 
of  freedom  made  Western  civilization  possible.  An 
idea  will  jsometimes  revolutionize  an  individuaTTa™ 
community,  a  state"  a  nation,  or  even  a  world,  and 
the  idea  that  man  possesses  inalienable  rights 
which  the  state  did  not  give,  and  which  the  state, 
tho  it  can  deny,  cannot  take  away,  has  made  mil 
lions  of  human  beings  stand  erect  and  claim  their 
God-given  inheritance.  While  the  area  of  consti 
tutional  liberty  is  ever  widening,  while  the  tyranny 
and  insolence  of  arbitrary  power  are  every  year 
decreasing,  the  leaders  of  the  world's  thought— 
not_only  the  English-speaking  nations,  but  the  other 
Christian  nations fas  well — have  yet  much  to  do  in 
teaching  reverence  for  the  Itfill  of  tlfe  majority  and 
respect  for  the  public  servants  upon  whom  the 
people  bestow  authority. 

The  Christian  nations  must  lead  the  movement 
for  the  promotion  of  peace,  not  only  because  they 
are  enlisted  under  the  banner  of  the  Prince  of 
Peace,  but  also  because  they  have  attained  such  a 
degree  of  intelligence  that  they  can  no  longer  take 
a  pride  in  a  purely  physical  victory.  The  belief 
that  moral  questions  can  be  settled  by  the  shedding 
of  human  blood  is  a  relic  of  barbarism;  to  doubt 
the  dynamic  power  of  righteousness  is  infidelity  to 
truth  itself.  The  nation  which  is  unwilling  to  trust 


220  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

its  cause  to  the  universal  conscience,  or  which 
shrinks  from  the  presentation  of  its  claims  before 
a  tribunal  where  reason  holds  sway,  betrays  a  lack 
of  faith  in  the  soundness  of  its  position.  Our 
country  has  reason  to  congratulate  itself  upon  the 
success  of  President  Roosevelt  in  hastening  peace 
between  Russia  and  Japan ;  through  him  our  na 
tion  won  a  moral  victory  more  glorious  than  a  vic 
tory  in  war.  His  Majesty  King  Edward  VII  has 
also  shown  himself  a  promoter  of  arbitration,  and 
a  large  number  of  the  members  of  the  English  Par 
liament  are  enlisted  in  the  same  work.  It  means 
much  that  the  two  great  English-speaking  nations 
are  thus  arrayed  on  the  side  of  peace.  I  venture 
to  suggest  that  the  world's  peace  would  be  greatly 
promoted  by  an  agreement  among  the  leading  na 
tions  that  no  declaration  of  war  should  be  made 
until  after  the  submission  of  the  question  in  con 
troversy  to  an  impartial  court  for  investigation, 
each  nation  reserving  the  right  to  accept  or  re 
ject  the  decision.  The  preliminary  investigation 
would  almost  in  every  instance  insure  an  amicable 
settlement,  and  the  reserved  rights  would  be 
sufficient  protection  against  any  possible  injus 
tice. 

Let  me  go  a  step  farther  and  appeal  for  a 
clearer  recognition  of  the  dignity  of  labor.  The 
odium  which  rests  upon  the  work  of  the  hand  has 
exerted  a  baneful  influence  the  world  around.  The 
theory  that  idleness  is  more  honorable  than  toil — 
that  it  is  more  respectable  to  consume  what  others 
have  produced  than  to  be  a  producer  of  wealth — 
has  not  only  robbed  society  of  an  enormous  sum, 


THE  WHITE  MAN'S  BURDEN         221 

but  it  has  created  an  almost  impassable  gulf  be-- 
tween  the  leisure  classes  and  those  who  support 
them.  Tolstoy  is  right  in  asserting  that  most  of 
the  perplexing  problems  of  society  grow  out  of  the 
lack  of  sympathy  between  man  and  man.  Because 
some  imagine  themselves  above  work,  while  others 
see  before  them  nothing  but  a  life  of  drudgery, 
there  is  constant  wrarring  and  much  of  bitterness. 
When  men  and  women  become  ashamed  of  doing 
nothing,  and  try  to  give  to  society  full  compensa 
tion  for  all  they  receive  from  society,  there  will  be 
harmony  between  the  classes. 

While  Europe  and  America  have  advanced  far 
beyond  the  Orient  in  placing  a  proper  estimate 
upon  those  who  work,  even  our  nations  have  not 
yet  fully  learned  the  lesson  that  employment  at 
some  useful  avocation  is  essential  to  physical  health, 
intellectual  development,  and  moral  growth.  The 
agricultural  colleges  and  industrial  schools  which 
have  sprunk  up  in  so  many  localities  are  evidence 
that  a  higher  ideal  is  spreading  among  the  people. 
If  America  and  England  are  to  meet  the  require 
ments  of  their  high  positions  they  must  be  pre 
pared  to  present  in  the  lives  of  their  citizens  exam 
ples,  increasing  in  number,  of  men  and  women 
who  find  delight  in  contributing  to  the  welfare  of 
their  fellows,  and  this  ought  not  to  be  difficult,  for 
every  department  of  human  activity  has  a  fascina 
tion  of  its  own. 

And  now  we  come  to  the  most  important  need 
of  the  Orient — a  conception  of  life  which  recog 
nizes  individual  responsibility  to  God,  teaches  the 
brotherhood  of  man,  and  measures  greatness  by  the 


222  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

service  rendered.  The  first  establishes  a  rational 
relation  between  the  creature  and  his  Creator;  the 
second  lays  the  foundation  for  justice  between  man 
and  his  fellows,  and  the  third  furnishes  an  ambition 
large  enough  to  fill  each  life  with  noble  effort. 
No  service  which  we  can  render  to  the  less  favored 
nations  can  compare  in  value  to  this  service,  for 
if  we  can  bring  their  people  to  accept  such  an  ideal 
they  will  rival  the  Occident  in  their  contribution 
to  civilization.  If  this  ideal — which  must  be  ac 
cepted  as  the  true  one  if  our  religion  is  true — had 
been  more  perfectly  illustrated  in  the  lives  of 
Christians  and  in  the  conduct  of  Christian  nations, 
there  would  now  be  less  of  the  " White  Man's 
Burden." 

If  it  is  legitimate  to  * '  seek  another 's  profit ' '  and 
"to  work  another's  gain,"  how  can  this  service 
best  be  rendered?  This  has  been  the  disputed 
point.  Individuals  and  nations  have  differed  less 
about  the  purpose  to  be  accomplished  than  about 
the  methods  to  be  employed.  Persecutions  have 
5e*en  carried  on  avowedly  for  the  benefit  of  the 
persecuted;  wars  have  been  waged  for  the  alleged 
improvement  of  those  attacked ;  and,  still  more  fre 
quently,  philanthropy  has  been  adulterated  with 
selfish  interest.  If  the  superior  nations  have  a 
mission,  it  is  not  to  wound,  but  to  heal — not  to  cast 
down,  but  to  lift  up,  and  the  means  must  be  exam 
ple — a  far  more  powerful  and  enduring  means 
than  violence.  Example  may  be  likened  to  the 
sun,  whose  genial  rays  constantly  coax  the  buried 
seed  into  life,  and  clothe  the  earth,  first  with  ver 
dure,  and  afterward  with  ripened  grain ;  while  vio- 


THE  WHITE  MAN'S  BURDEN         223 

lence  is  the  occasional  tempest,  which  can  ruin,  but 
cannot  give  life. 

Can  we  doubt  the  efficacy  of  example  in  the  light 
of  history?  There  has  been  a  great  increase  in 
education  during  the  last  century,  and  the  school- 
houses  have  not  been  opened  by  the  bayonet;  they 
owe  their  existence  largely  to  the  moral  influence 
which  neighboring  nations  exert  upon  each  other. 
And  the  spread  of  popular  government  during  the 
same  period,  how  rapid !  Constitution  after  con 
stitution  has  been  adopted,  and  limitation  after 
limitation  has  been  placed  upon  arbitrary  power, 
until  Russia,  yielding  to  public  opinion,  establishes 
a  legislative  body,  and  China  sends  commissioners 
abroad  with  a  view  to  inviting  the  people  to  share 
the  responsibilities  of  government. 

"While  in  America  and  in  Europe  there  is  much 
to  be  corrected,  and  abundant  room  for  improve 
ment,  there  has  never  been  so  much  altruism  in 
the  world  as  there  is  to-day — never  so  many  who 
acknowledge  the  indissoluble  tie  that  binds  each  to 
every  other  member  of  the  race.  The  example  of 
the  Christian  nations,  tho  but  feebly  reflecting  the 
light  of  the  Master,  is  gradually  reforming  the 
world. 

Society  has  passed  through  a  period  of  aggran 
dizement,  nations  taking  what  they  had  the  strength 
to  take,  and  holding  what  they  had  the  power  to 
hold.  But  we  are  already  entering  upon  a  second 
era — an  era  in  which  nations  discuss  not  merely 
what  they  can  do,  but  what  they  should  do,  consid 
ering  justice  of  greater  importance  than  physical 
prowess.  In  tribunals  like  that  instituted  at  the 


224  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

Hague,  the  chosen  representatives  of  the  nations 
weigh  questions  of  right  and  wrong,  give  to  the 
small  nation  an  equal  hearing  with  the  great,  and 
decree  according  to  conscience.  This  marks  an 
immeasurable  advance,  but  there  is  another  step 
yet  to  be  taken.  Justice,  after  all,  is  a  cold,  pulse 
less,  negative  virtue:  the  world  needs  something 
warmer  and  more  generous.  Harmlessness  is  bet 
ter  than  harmfulness,  but  positive  helpfulness  is 
vastly  superior  to  harmlessness,  and  we  still  have 
before  us  the  larger  and  higher  destiny  of  service. 

There  are  even  now  signs  of  the  approach  of 
this  third  era,  not  so  much  in  the  action  of  Gov 
ernments  as  in  the  growing  tendency  among  many 
men  and  women  in  many  lands  to  contribute  their 
means,  and  in  some  cases  their  lives,  to  the  intel 
lectual  and  moral  awakening  of  those  who  sit  in 
darkness.  Nowhere  are  these  signs  more  abundant 
than  in  our  own  beloved  land.  I  have  felt  more 
proud  of  my  countrymen  than  ever  before  since  I 
have  visited  the  circuit  of  schools,  hospitals,  and 
churches  which  American  philanthropy  has  built  t 
around  the  world.  Before  the  sun  sets  upon  one  of 
these  centers  of  a  new  civilization  it  rises  upon 
another. 

On  the  walls  of  the  temple  at  Karnak  an  ancient 
artist  carved  the  likeness  of  an  Egyptian  king ;  the 
monarch  is  represented  as  holding  a  group  of  cap 
tives  by  the  hair,  the  other  hand  raising  a  club  as 
if  to  strike  a  blow.  What  king  would  be  willing  to 
confess  himself  so  cruel  today?  In  some  of  the 
capitals  of  Europe  there  are  monuments  built  of, 
or  ornamented  with,  cannon  taken  in  war;  this 


THE  WHITE  MAN'S  BURDEN         225 

Ibrm  of  boasting,  once  popular,  is  still  tolerated, 
tho  it  must  in  time  give  way  to  some  emblem  of 
victory  less  suggestive  of  slaughter.  As  we  are 
gathered  tonight  in  England's  capital,  permit  me 
to  conclude  with  a  sentiment  suggested  by  a  piece 
of  statuary  which  stands  in  Windsor  Castle.  It 
represents  the  late  lamented  Queen  Victoria  lean- 
irg  upon  her  royal  consort ;  he  has  one  arm  about 
her,  and  with  the  other  hand  is  pointing  upward. 
The  sculptor  has  told  in  marble  an  eloquent  story 
of  strength  coupled  with  tenderness,  of  love  re 
warded  with  trust,  of  sorrow  brightened  by  hope, 
and  he  has  told  the  story  so  plainly  that  it  was 
scarcely  necessary  to  chisel  the  words:  "Allured 
to  brighter  worlds,  and  led  the  way."  It  was  a 
beautiful  conception — more  beautiful  than  that 
which  gave  to  the  world  the  Greek  Slave,  the  Dying 
Gladiator,  or  the  Goddess  Athene,  and  it  embodies 
an  idea  which,  with  the  expanding  feeling  of  com 
radeship,  can  be  applied  to  the  association  of  na 
tions,  as  well  as  to  the  relations  that  exist  between 
husband  and  wife.  Let  us  indulge  the  hope  that 
our  nation  may  so  measure  up  its  great  opportuni 
ties,  and  so  bear  its  share  of  the  White  Man's  Bur 
den,  as  to  earn  the  right  to  symbolize  its  progress 
by  a  similar  figure.  If  it  has  been  allured  by  Provi 
dence  to  higher  ground,  may  it  lead  the  way,  win 
ning  the  confidence  of  those  who  follow  it,  and  ex 
hibiting  the  spirit  of  Him  who  said,  "I,  if  I  be 
lifted  up,  will  draw  all  men  unto  Me. ' ' 

I  take  pleasure,  therefore,  on  this  occasion  among 
our  countrymen  and  our  countrymen's  friends  in  pro 
posing  :  * '  The  Day  We  Celebrate '  '—The  4th  of  July. 


V 
AT  THE   PEACE  CONGRESS 

Delivered  in  London,  in  the  Hoyal  Gallery  of  the  House 
Of  Lords,  on  July  26,  1906,  at  the  session  of  The  Interpir- 
liamentary  Union,  or  Peace  Congress. 

I  REGRET  that  I  can  not  speak  to  you  in  the 
language  which  is  usually  employed  in  this 
body,  but  I  know  only  one  language,  the  lan 
guage  of  my  own  country,  and  you  will  pardon  me 
if  I  use  that.  I  desire  in  the  first  place  to  express 
my  appreciation  of  the  courtesy  shown  me  by  Lord 
Weardale,  our  president,  and  by  Baron  von  Plener, 
the  chairman  of  the  committee  which  framed  the 
model  treaty.  The  latter  has  framed  this  substi 
tute  embodying  both  of  the  ideas  (investigation  and 
meditation)  which  were  presented  yesterday.  I 
recognize  the  superior  wisdom  and  the  greater  ex 
perience  of  this  learned  committee  which  has  united 
the  two  propositions,  and  I  thank  this  body  also  for 
the  opportunity  to  say  just  a  word  in  defense  of 
my  part  of  the  resolution.  I  cannot  say  that  it  is 
a  new  idea,  for  since  it  was  presented  yesterday  I 
have  learned  that  the  same  idea  in  substance  was 
presented  last  year  at  Brussels  by  Mr.  Bartholdt, 
of  my  own  country,  who  has  been  so  conspicuous 
in  his  efforts  to  promote  peace,  and  I  am  very  glad 
that  I  can  follow  in  his  footsteps  in  the  urging  of 
this  amendment.  I  may  add  also  that  it  is  in  line 
with  the  suggestion  made  by  the  honorable  prime- 
(226) 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONGRESS  227 

minister  of  Great  Britain,  Sir  Henry  Campbell- 
Bannerman.  in  that  memorable  and  epoch-making 
speech  of  yesterday,  in  that  speech  which  contained 
several  sentences  any  one  of  which  would  have  jus 
tified  the  assembling  of  this  Interparliamentary 
Union — any  one  of  which  would  have  compen 
sated  us  all  for  coming  here.  In  that  splendid 
speech  he  exprest  the  hope  that  the  scope  of  arbi 
tration  treaties  might  be  enlarged.  He  said: 

"Gentlemen,  I  fervently  trust  that  before  long  the  prin 
ciple  of  arbitration  may  win  such  confidence  as  to  justify 
its  extension  to  a  wider  field  of  international  differences. 
We  have  already  seen  how  questions  arousing  passion  and 
excitement  have  attained  a  solution,  not  necessarily  by  means 
of  arbitration  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word,  but  by  re 
ferring  them  to  such  a  tribunal  as  that  which  reported  on 
the  North  Sea.  incident :  and  I  would  ask  you  whether  it 
may  not  be  worth  while  carefully  to  consider,  before  the 
next  congress  meets  at  The  Hague,  the  various  forms  in 
which  differences  micht  be  submitted,  with  a  view  to  open 
ing  the  door  as  wide  as  possible  to  every  means  which 
might  in  any  decree  contribute  to  moderate  or  compose 
such  differences." 

This  amendment  is  in  harmony  with  this  sug 
gestion.  The  resolution  is  in  the  form  of  a  post 
script  to  the  treaty,  but  like  the  postscripts  to 
some  letters  it  contains  a  very  vital  subject — in 
fact,  I  am  not  sure  but  the  postscript  in  this  case 
is  as  important  as  the  letter  itself,  for  it  deals  with 
those  questions  which  have  defied  arbitration.  Cer 
tain  questions  affecting  the  honor  or  integrity  of  a 
nation  are  generally  thought  to  be  outside  of  the 
jurisdiction  of  a  court  of  arbitration,  and  these 
are  the  questions  which  have  given  trouble.  Pas 
sion  is  not  often  aroused  by  questions  that  do  not 
affect  a  nation's  integrity  or  honor,  but  for  fear 


228  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

these  questions  may  arise  arbitration  is  not  always 
employed  where  it  might  be.  The  first  advantage, 
then,  of  this  resolution  is  that  it  secures  an  inves 
tigation  of  the  facts,  and  if  you  can  but  separate 
the  facts  from  the  question  of  honor,  the  chances 
are  100  to  1  that  you  can  settle  both  the  fact  and 
the  question  of  honor  without  war.  There  is,  there 
fore,  a  great*  advantage  in  an  investigation  that 
brings  out  the  facts,  for  disputed  facts  between  na 
tions,  as  between  friends,  are  the  cause  of  most 
disagreements. 

The  second  advantage  of  this  investigation  is 
that'  it  gives  time  for  calm  consideration.  That  has 
already  been  well  presented  by  the  gentleman  who 
has  preceded  me,  Baron  von  Plener.  I  need  not 
say  to  you  that  man  excited  is  a  very  different 
animal  from  man  calm,  and  that  questions  ought 
to  be  settled,  not  by  passion,  but  by  deliberation. 
If  this  resolution  would  do  nothing  else  but  give 
time  for  reflection  and  deliberation,  there  would 
be  sufficient  reason  for  its  adoption.  If  we  can  but 
stay  the  hand  of  war  until  conscience  can  assert  it 
self,  war  will  be  made  more  remote.  When  men 
are  mad  they  swagger  around  and  tell  what  they 
can  do;  when  they  are  calm  they  consider  what 
they  ought  to  do. 

The  third  advantage  of  this  investigation  is  that 
it  gives  opportunity  to  mobilize  public  opinion  for 
the  compelling  of  a  peaceful  settlement  and  that  is 
an  advantage  not  to  be  overlooked.  Public  opinion 
is  coming  to  be  more  and  more  a  power  in  the 
world.  One  of  the  greatest  statesmen  of  my  coun 
try — Thomas  Jefferson,  and  if  it  would  not  offend 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONGRESS          229 

I  would  say  I  believe  him  to  be  the  greatest  states 
man  the  world  has  produced — said  that  if  he  had 
to  choose  between  a  government  without  news 
papers  and  newspapers  without  a  government,  he 
would  rather  risk  the  newspapers  without  a  gov 
ernment.  You  may  call  it  an  extravagant  state 
ment,  and  yet  it  presents  an  idea,  and  that  idea  is 
that  public  opinion  is  a  controlling  force.  I  am 
glad  that  the  time  is  coming  when  public  opinion 
is  to  be  more  and  more  powerful;  glad  that  the 
time  is  coming  when  the  moral  sentiment  of  one 
nation  will  influence  the  action  of  other  nations; 
glad  that  the  time  is  coming  when  the  world  will 
realize  that  a  war  between  two  nations  affects 
others  than  the  nations  involved;  glad  that  the 
time  is  coming  when  the  world  will  insist  that  na 
tions  settle  their  differences  by  some  peaceful 
means.  If  time  is  given  for  the  marshaling  of  the 
force  of  public  opinion  peace  will  be  promoted. 
This  resolution  is  presented,  therefore,  for  the  reas 
ons  that  it  gives  an  opportunity  to  investigate  the 
facts,  and  to  separate  them  from  the  question  of 
honor,  that  it  gives  time  for  the  calming  of  passion, 
and  that  it  gives  time  for  the  formation  of  a  con 
trolling  public  sentiment. 

I-will  not  disguise  the  fact  that  I  consider  this 
resolution  a  long  step  in  the  direction  of  peace, 
rior  will  I  disguise  the  fact  that  I  am  here  because 
I  want  this  Interparliamentary  Union  to  take  just 
as  long  a  step  as  possible  in  the  direction  of  uni 
versal  peace.  We  meet  in  a  famous  hall,  and  look 
ing  down  upon  us  from  these  walls  are  pictures  that 
illustrate  not  only  the  glory  that  is  to  be  won  in 


230  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

war,  but  the  horrors  that  follow  war.  There  is  a 
picture  of  one  of  the  great  figures  in  English  his 
tory  (pointing  to  the  fresco  by  Maclise  of  the  death 
of  Nelson).  Lord  Nelson  is  represented  as  dying, 
amd  around  him  are  the  mangled  forms  of  others. 
I  understand  that  war  brings  out  certain  virtues. 
I  am  aware  that  it  gives  opportunity  for  the  dis 
play  of  great  patriotism;  I  am  aware  that  the  ex 
ample  of  men  who  give  their  lives  for  their  country 
is  inspiring;  but  I  venture  to  say  there  is  as  much 
inspiration  in  a  noble  life  as  there  is  in  a  heroic 
death,  and  I  trust  that  one  of  the  results  of  this 
Interparliamentary  Union  will  be  to  emphasize 
the  doctrine  that  a  life  devoted  to  the  public,  and 
ever  flowing,  like  a  spring,  with  good,  exerts  an 
influence  upon  the  human  race  and  upon  the  des 
tiny  of  the  world  as  great  as  any  death  in  war. 
And  if  you  will  permit  me  to  mention  one  whose 
career  I  watched  with  interest  and  whose  name  I 
revere,  I  will  say  that,  in  my  humble  judgment, 
the  sixty-four  years  of  spotless  public  service  of 
William  Ewart  Gladstone  will,  in  years  to  come, 
be  regarded  as  rich  an  ornament  to  the  history  of 
this  nation  as  the  life  of  any  man  who  poured  out 
his  blood  upon  a  battlefield. 

All  movements  in  the  interest  of  peace  have  back 
of  them  the  idea  of  brotherhood.  If  peace  is  to 
come  in  this  world,  it  will  come  because  people 
more  and  more  clearly  recognize  the  indissoluble 
tie  that  binds  each  human  being  to  every  other.  If 
we  are  to  build  permanent  peace  it  must  be  on  the 
foundation  of  the  brotherhood  of  men.  A  poet  has" 
described  how  in  the  civil  war  that  divided  our 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONGRESS          231 

country  into  two  hostile  camps  a  generation  ago — 
in  one  battle  a  soldier  in  one  line  thrust  his  bayonet 
through  a  soldier  in  the  opposing  line,  and  how, 
when  he  stooped  to  draw  it  out,  he  recognized  in 
the  face  of  the  fallen  one  the  face  of  his  own 
brother.  And  then  the  poet  describes  the  feeling 
of  horror  that  overwhelmed  the  survivor  when  he 
realized  that  he  had  taken  the  life  of  one  who  was 
the  child  of  the  same  parents  and  the  companion 
of  his  boyhood.  It  was  a  pathetic  story,  but  is  it 
too  much  to  hope  that  as  years  go  by  we  will  begin 
to  understand  that  the  whole  human  race  is  but  a 
larger  family? 

It  is  not  too  much  to  hope  that  as  years  go  by 
human  sympathy  will  expand  until  this  feeling  of 
unity  will  not  be  confined  to  the  members  of  a 
family  or  to  the  members  of  a  clan  or  of  a  com 
munity  or  State,  but  shall  be  world-wide.  It  is 
not  too  much  to  hope  that  we,  in  this  assembly, 
possibly  by  this  resolution,  may  hasten  the  day 
when  we  shall  feel  so  appalled  at  the  thought  of 
the  taking  of  any  human  life  that  we  shall  strive 
to  raise  all  questions  to  a  level  where  the  settle 
ment  will  be  by  reason  and  not  by  force. 

Note: — The  following  resolution  urged  by  Mr.  Bryan 
was  unanimously  adopted,  "If  a  disagreement  should 
arise  which  is  not  included  in  those  to  be  submitted  to 
arbitration  the  contracting  parties  shall  not  resort  to 
any  act  of  hostility  before  they  separately  or  jointly 
invite,  as  the  case  may  necessitate,  the  formation  of  the 
international  commission  of  inquiry  or  mediation  of  one 
or  more  friendly  powers,  this  requisition  to  take  place, 
if  necessary,  in  accordance  with  Article  VIII.  of  The 
Hague  convention  providing  for  a  peaceful  settlement 
of  international  conflicts." 


EDUCATIONAL 
AND    RELIGIOUS   SPEECHES 


II  18 


I 

THE  VALUE   OF  AN    IDEAL 

A  lecture  delivered  at  numerous  Chainauquas  and  College 
gatherings,  beginning  in  1901. 

WHAT  is  the  value  of  an  ideal?  Have  you 
ever  attempted  to  estimate  its  worth? 
Have  you  ever  tried  to  measure  its  value 
in  dollars  and  cents ?>(  If  you  would  know  the  pe 
cuniary  value  of  an  ideal,  go  into  the  home  of  some 
man  of  great  wealth  who  has  an  only  son ;  go  into 
that  home  when  the  son  has  gone  downward  in  a 
path  of  dissipation  until  the  father  no  longer  hopes 
for  his  reform,  and  then  ask  the  father  what  an 
ideal  would  have  been  worth  that  would  have  made 
a  man  out  of  his  son  instead  of  a  wreck.  He  will 
tell  you  that  all  the  money  that  he  has  or  could 
have  he  would  gladly  give  for  an  ideal  of  life  that 
would  turn  his  boy 's  steps  upward  instead  of  down 
ward. 

An  ideal  is  above  price.    It  means  the  difference  ^ 
between  success  and  failure — the  difference  between   v 
a  noble  life  and  a  disgraceful  career,  and  it  some-  |l 
times  means  the  difference  between  life  and  death^  \ 
Have  you  noticed  the  increasing  number  of  sui 
cides?     I  speak  not  of  those  sad  cases  in  which 
the  reason  dethroned  leaves  the  hand  no  guide,  but 
rather  of  those  cases,  increasing  in  number,  where 
the  person  who  takes  his  life  finds  nothing  worth 
living  for.    When  I  read  of  one  of  these  cases  I  ask 

(235) 


236  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

myself  whether  it  is  not  caused  by  a  false  ideal  of 
life.  If  one  measures  life  by  what  others  do  for 
him  he  is  apt  to  be  disappointed,  for  people  are  not 
likely  to  do  as  much  for  him  as  he  expects.  One 
of  the  most  difficult  things  in  life  is  to  maintain  the 
parity  between  one's  opinion  of  his  own  merits  and 
the  opinion  that  others  have  of  him.  If,  I  repeat, 
a  man  measures  life  by  what  others  do  for  him,  he 
is  apt  to  be  disappointed,  but  if  he  measures  life 
by  what  he  does  for  others,  there  is  no  time  for 
despair.  If  he  measures  life  by  its  accumulations,' 
these  usually  fall  short  of  his  expectations,  but  if 
he  measures  life  by  the  contribution  which  he 
makes  to  the  sum  of  human  happiness,  his  only  dis 
appointment  is  in  not  finding  time  to  do  all  that 
his  heart  prompts  him  to  do.  Whether  he  spends 
his  time  trying  to  absorb  from  the  world,  only  to 
have  the  burden  of  life  grow  daily  heavier,  or 
spends  his  time  in  an  effort  to  accomplish  some 
thing  of  real  value  to  the  race,  depends  upon  his 
ideal. 

The  ideal  must  be  far  enough  above  us  to  keep 
us  looking  up  toward  it  all  the  time,  and  it  must  be 
far  enough  in  advance  of  us  to  keep  us  struggling 
toward  it  to  the  end  of  life.  It  is  a  very  poor  ideal 
that  one  ever  fully  realizes,  and  it  is  a  great  misfor 
tune  for  one  to  overtake  his  ideal,  for,  when  he 
does,  his  progress  stopsw  I  was  once  made  an  hon 
orary  member  of  a  class  and  asked  to  suggest  a 
class  motto.  I  suggested  "Ever-Green"  and  some 
of  the  class  did  not  like  it.  They  did  not  like  to 
admit  that  they  ever  had  been  green,  not  to  speak 
of  always  being  green.  But  it  is  a  good  class  motto 


THE  VALUE  OF  AN  IDEAL  237 

because  the  period  of  greenness  is  the  period  of 
growth.  When  we  cease  to  be  green  and  are  en 
tirely  ripe  we  are  ready  for  decay.  I  like  to  think 
of  life  as  a  continual  progress  toward  higher  and 
better  things — as  a  continual  unfolding.  There  is 
no  better  description  of  a  really  noble  life  than  that 
given  in  Holy  Writ  where  Solomon  speaks  of  the 
path  of  the  just  as  "like  the  shining  light  that 
shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day. ' ' 

The  ideal  is  permanent;  it  does  not  change. 
Therefore  it  is  so  important  that  the  ideal  shall  be 
a  worthy  one.->jcl  speak  as  a  parent  to  parents,  and 
teachers  will  endorse  what  I  say,  when  I  declare 
that  one  of  the  most  important  things  in  dealing 
with  the  young  is  to  get  the  person  to  take  firm 
hold  of  a  high  ideal.  Give  one  food  and  he  will 
hunger  again;  give  him  clothing  and  his  clothing 
will  wear  out,  but  give  him  a  high  ideal  and  that 
ideal  will  be  with  him  through  every  waking  hour, 
lifting  him  to  a  higher  plane  in  life  and  giving  him 
a  broader  conception  of  his  relations  to  his  fellows. 
Plans  may  change ;  circumstances  will  change 
plans.  Each  one  of  us  can  testify  to  this.  Even 
ambitions  change,  for  circumstances  will  change 
ambitions.  If  you  will  pardon  a  reference  to  my 
own  case,  I  have  had  three  ambitions — two  so  far 
back  that  I  can  scarcely  remember  them,  and  one 
so  recent  that  I  can  hardly  forget  it.  My  first 
ambition  was  to  be  a  Baptist  preacher.  When  I 
was  a  small  boy,  if  any  body  asked  me  what  I  in 
tended  to  be,  I  always  replied :  "A  Baptist  preach 
er";  but  my  father  took  me  one  evening  to  see 
an  immersion  and  upon  reaching  home  I  asked  him 


238  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

if  it  would  be  necessary  to  go  down  into  that  pool 
of  water  in  order  to  be  a  Baptist  preacher.  He 
replied  that  it  would,  and  it  is  a  tradition  in  our 
family  that  I  never  afterwards  would  say  that  I 
was  going  to  be  a  Baptist  preacher. 

My  second  ambition  was  to  be  a  farmer  and  raise 
pumpkins,  and  there  are  doubtless  a  great  many 
people  who  are  glad  that  I  now  have  a  chance  to 
realize  my  second  ambition  without  having  my 
agricultural  pursuits  interrupted  by  official  cares. 

My  third  ambition  was  to  be  a  lawyer.  When  I 
was  a  barefoot  boy  I  used  to  go  to  the  court  house 
and  sitting  upon  the  steps  leading  up  to  the  bench 
upon  which  my  father  then  sat  I  listened  to  the 
trial  of  cases  and  looked  forward  to  the  time  when 
I  would  be  practising  at  the  bar.  That  ambition 
guided  me  through  my  boyhood  days  and  my  col 
lege  days.  I  studied  law,  was  admitted  to  the  bar, 
practiced  for  a  while  in  Illinois  and  then  located 
in  Nebraska.  In  removing  from  Illinois  to  Ne 
braska  I  was  influenced  solely  by  professional  rea 
sons.  I  need  not  give  you  any  further  assurance 
that  I  did  not  move  to  Nebraska  for  political  rea 
sons  than  to  say  that  at  the  time  of  my  location 
in  Lincoln,  Nebraska  was  republican,  the  congres 
sional  district  was.  republican,  the  county  was  re 
publican,  the  city  was  republican,  the  ward  was 
republican,  and  the  voting  precinct  was  republi 
can — and  to  tell  the  truth  about  it,  there  has  not 
been  as  much  change  in  that  respect  as  there  ought 
to  have  been  considering  the  intelligence  of  the 
people  among  whom  I  have  been  living. 
?  I  entered  politics  by  accident  and  remained  there 


THE  VALUE  OF  AN  IDEAL  239 

by  design.  I  was  nominated  for  Congress  in  1890 
because  it  was  not  thought  possible  for  a  Democrat 
to  be  elected.  I  was  young  and  new  in  the  State. 
If  it  had  been  a  democratic  district  the  honor 
would  have  gone  to  some  one  older,  of  longer  resi 
dence  and  more  deserving.  A  republican  paper 
said  next  morning  after  the  convention  that  a  con 
fidence  game  had  been  played  upon  a  young  man 
from  Illinois  and  that  he  had  been  offered  as  a  sac 
rifice  upon  the  party  altar  because  he  had  not 
been  in  the  State  long  enough  to  know  the  political 
complexion  of  the  district.  My  location  in  Nebras 
ka  was  due  to  my  acquaintance  with  a  man  whom 
I  learned  to  know  in  college,  and  this  acquaintance 
became  more  intimate  because  of  a  joke  which  I 
played  upon  him  when  we  were  students.  Tracing 
it  back,  step  by  step,  I  said  one  evening  in  Balti 
more  that  I  was  elected  to  congress  as  a  result 
of  a  joke  that  I  played  upon  a  friend  in  college. 
The  gentleman  who  followed  me  said  that  that 
was  nothing,  that  he  had  known  men  to  go  to  Con 
gress  as  a  result  of  a  joke  they  had  played  upon 
an  entire  community. 

My  term  in  congress  brought  me  into  contact 
with  the  great  political  and  economic  problems  now 
demanding  solution  and  I  have  never  since  that 
time  been  willing  to  withdraw  myself  from  their 
study  and  discussion,  and  I  offer  no  apology  at 
this  time  for  being  interested  in  the  science  of  gov 
ernment.  It  is  a  noble  science,  and  one  to  which 
the  citizen  must  give  his  attention.  I  have  no  pa 
tience  with  those  who  feel  that  they  are  too  good 
to  take  part  in  politics.  When  I  find  a  person 


240  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

who  thinks  that  he  is  too  good  to  take  part  in 
politics,  I  find  one  who  is  not  quite  good  enough 
to  deserve  the  blessings  of  a  free  government.  Par 
ents  sometimes  warn  their  sons  to  keep  out  of  poli 
tics;  mothers  sometimes  urge  their  sons  to  avoid 
politics  lest  they  become  contaminated  by  it.  This 
ought  not  to  be.  It  used  to  be  the  boast  of  the 
Roman  matron  that  she  could  rear  strong  and  cour 
ageous  sons  for  the  battle-field.  In  this  age  when 
the  victories  of  peace  are  no  less  renowned  than 
the  victories  of  war,  and  in  this  country  where 
every  year  brings  a  conflict,  it  ought  to  be  the 
boast  of  American  mothers  that  they  can  rear 
strong  and  courageous  sons  who  can  enter  politics 
without  contamination  and  purify  politics  rather 
than  be  corrupted  by  politics. 

But  while  my  plans  and  ambitions  have  been 
changed  by  circumstances,  I  trust  that  my  ideals 
of  citizenship  have  not  changed,  and  that  I  may 
be  permitted  to  share  with  you  an  ideal  that  will 
place  above  the  holding  of  any  office,  however 
great,  the  purpose  to  do  what  we  can  to  make 
this  country  so  good  that  to  be  a  private  citizen 
in  the  United  States  will  be  greater  than  to  be  a 
king  in  any  other  nation. 

The  ideal  dominates  the  life,  determines  the 
character  and  fires  a  man's  place  among  his  fel 
lows.  I  shall  mention  some  instances  that  have 
come  under  my  own  observation  and  as  I  speak  of 
them  I  am  sure  you  will  recall  instances  within 
your  knowledge  where  the  ideal  has  in  an  open 
and  obvious  way  controlled  the  life.  I  have  known 
laboring:  men  who,  working  for  wages,  have  been 


THE  VALUE  OF  AN  IDEAL  241 

able  to  support  themselves,  acquire  a  library  and 
become  acquainted  with  the  philosophers,  orators 
and  historians  of  the  world,  and  many  of  them 
have  laid  aside  enough  to  gratify  their  ambition  for 
a  college  course.  What  enables  them  to  resist  temp 
tation  and  press  forward  to  the  consummation  of 
a  high  purpose?  It  is  their  ideal  of  life.  As  I 
have  gone  through  the  country  I  have  found  here 
and  there  young  men — sometimes  the  sons  of  farm 
ers,  sometimes  the  sons  of  mechanics,  sometimes  the 
sons  of  merchants,  sometimes  the  sons  of  profes- 
ional  men — young  men  who  have  one  characteristic 
in  common,  namely,  that  they  have  been  preparing 
for  service.  They  have  learned  that  service  is  the 
measure  of  greatness,  and  tho  they  have  not  al 
ways  known  just  what  line  of  work  they  were  to 
follow,  they  have  been  preparing  themselves  for 
service,  and  they  will  be  ready  when  the  opportun 
ity  comes. 

I  know  a  young  man  who  came  to  this  country 
when  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age;  he  came  to 
study  our  institutions  and  learn  of  our  form  of 
government,  and  now  he  has  returned  with  a  deter 
mination  to  be  helpful  to  his  people.  I  watched 
him  for  five  years,  and  I  never  knew  a  man 
who  more  patiently  or  perseveringly  pursued  a 
high  ideal.  You  might  have  offered  him  all  the 
money  in  the  treasury  to  have  become  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  but  it  would  have  been  no  temp 
tation  to  him.  He  would  have  told  you  that  he 
had  a  higher  ideal  than  to  stand  guard  over  a  chest 
of  money.  His  desire  was  to  be  useful  to  his 
country,  and  I  hav^  no  doubt  that  he  will  be. 


242  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

I  was  passing  through  Chicago  some  months  ago 
and  having  a  few  hours  to  spare  between  trains, 
went  out  to  the  Hull  House,  that  splendid  institu 
tion  presided  over  by  Jane  Addams.  I  was  sur 
prized  to  learn  of  the  magnitude  of  its  work.  I 
learned  that  more  than  five  thousand  names  were 
enrolled  upon  the  books  of  the  association;  that 
mothers  left  their  babes  there  to  be  cared  for  when 
they  went  out  to  work,  that  little  children  received 
kindergarten  instruction  there,  that  young  women 
found  a  home  there,  and  young  men  a  place  where 
they  could  meet  and  commune  free  from  the  temp 
tations  of  city  life.  More  than  twenty  young  men 
and  young  women  give  their  entire  time  to  the 
work  of  this  association  without  compensation. 
Similar  institutions  will  be  found  in  nearly  all  of 
the  larger  cities  and  in  many  of  the  smaller  ones, 
and  in  these  institutions  young  men  and  young 
women,  many  of  them  college  graduates,  give  a 
part  or  all  of  their  time  to  gratuitous  work.  Why  ? 
Because  somehow  or  somewhere  they  have  taken 
hold  of  an  ideal  of  life  that  lifts  them  above  the 
sordid  selfishness  that  surrounds  them  and  makes 
them  find  a  delight  in  bringing  life  and  light  and 
hope  into  homes  that  are  dark.  The  same  can  be 
said  of  the  thousands  who  labor  in  the  institutions 
of  charity,  mercy  and  benevolence. 

A  few  months  ago  it  was  my  good  fortune  to 
spend  a  day  in  the  country  home  of  the  great  phi 
losopher  of  Russia.  You  know  something  of  the 
history  of  Tolstoy,  how  he  was  born  in  the  ranks 
of  the  nobility  and  how  with  such  a  birth  he  en 
joyed  every  possible  social  distinction.  At  an  early 


THE  VALUE  OF  AN  IDEAL  243 

age  he  became  a  writer  of  fiction  and  his  books 
have  given  him  a  fixt  place  among  the  novelists  of 
the  century.  "He  sounded  all  the  depths  and 
shoals  of  honor "  in  so  far  as  honor  could  be 
derived  from  society  or  from  literature,  and  yet 
at  the  age  of  forty-eight  life  seemed  so  vain  and 
empty  to  him  that  he  wanted  to  die.  They  showed 
me  a  ring  in  the  ceiling  of  a  room  in  his  house 
from  which  he  had  planned  to  hang  himself.  And 
what  deterred  him?  A  change  came  in  his  ideals. 
He  was  born  again,  he  became  a  new  creature, 
and  for  more  than  twenty-eight  years,  clad  in  the 
garb  of  a  peasant  and  living  the  simple  life  of  a 
peasant,  he  has  been  preaching  unto  all  the  world  a 
philosophy  that  rests  upon  the  doctrine  "Thou 
shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart 
and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  There  is  scarcely 
a  civilized  community  in  all  the  world  where  the 
name  of  Tolstoy  is  not  known  and  where  his  influ 
ence  has  not  been  felt.  He  has  made  such  an  im 
pression  upon  the  heart  of  Russia  and  the  world 
that  while  some  of  his  books  are  refused  publica 
tion  in  Russia  and  denied  importation  from  abroad, 
and  while  people  are  prohibited  from  circulating 
some  of  the  things  that  he  writes,  yet  with  a  mil 
lion  men  under  arms  the  government  does  not  lay 
its  hands  upon  Tolstoy. 

Let  me  add  another  illustration  of  a  complete 
change  in  the  ideal.  In  college  I  become  acquainted 
with  a  student  fourteen  years  my  senior,  and 
learned  the  story  of  his  life.  For  some  years  he 
was  a  tramp,  going  from  place  to  place  without 
fixt  purpose  or  habitation.  One  night  he  went  by 


244:  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

accident  into  a  place  where  a  revival  was  in  prog 
ress,  and  he  was  not  only  converted  but  he  de 
cided  to  be  a  minister.  I  watched  him  as  he  worked 
his  way  through  college,  doing  chores  to  earn  his 
board  and  lodging,  working  on  Saturdays  in  a 
store,  and  during  the  summer  months  at  anything 
he  could  find  to  do.  I  watched  him  as  he  worked 
his  way  through  the  theological  seminary,  and  then 
I  watched  him  as  he  preached  the  Gospel  until  he 
died,  and  I  never  knew  a  man  more  consecrated  to 
a  high  purpose.  The  change  came  in  his  life  as 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  Could  anything  be 
more  marvelous? 

Some  have  rejected  the  Christian  religion  be 
cause  they  could  not  understand  its  mysteries  and 
its  miracles. 

I  have  been  reading  a  book  recently  on  material 
ism  and  I  have  been  interested  in  the  attempt  of 
the  author  to  drive  God  out  of  the  universe.  He 
searches  for  Him  with  a  microscope,  and  because 
he  cannot  find  him  with  a  microscope,  he  declares 
that  he  is  too  small  to  see;  then  he  searches  for 
Him  with  a  telescope,  and  because  he  cannot  see 
Him  among  the  stars  or  beyond,  he  declares  that 
there  is  no  God — that  matter  and  force  alone  are 
eternal,  and  that  force  acting  on  matter  has  pro 
duced  the  clod,  the  grass  that  grows  upon  the 
clod,  the  beast  that  feeds  upon  the  grass,  and  man, 
the  climax  of  created  things.  I  have  tried  to  fol 
low  his  reasoning  and  have  made  up  my  mind  that 
it  requires  more  faith  to  accept  the  scientific  dem 
onstrations  of  materialism  than  to  accept  any  re 
ligion  I  have  ever  known.  As  I  tried  to  follow 


THE  VALUE  OF  AN  IDEAL          245 

his  syllogisms  I  was  reminded  of  the  reasoning  of 
a  man  who  conceived  the  idea  that  a  grasshopper 
heard  through  its  legs.  But  he  would  not  accept 
it  without  demonstration,  so  he  took  a  grasshopper, 
put  it  on  a  board  and  knocked  on  the  board.  The 
grasshopper  jumped,  and  this  he  regarded  as  evi 
dence  that  the  sound  traveled  along  the  board  till 
it  reached  the  grasshopper's  legs  and  then  went 
up  through  the  legs  to  the  center  of  life.  But  he 
was  not  willing  to  accept  it  upon  affirmative  proof 
alone;  he  insisted  upon  proving  it  negatively,  so 
he  pulled  the  legs  off  the  grasshopper  and  put  it 
on  the  board  and  rapped  again.  As  the  grasshop 
per  did  not  jump,  he  was  convinced  that  it  heard 
through  its  legs. 

I  say  I  was  reminded  of  the  grasshopper  scientist 
when  I  read  the  arguments  employed  to  prove 
that  there  is  no  God,  no  spiritual  life. 

In  the  journey  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave  we 
encounter  nothing  so  marvelous  as  the  change  in 
the  ideals  that  works  a  revolution  in  the  life  itself, 
and  there  is  nothing  in  materialism  to  explain  this 
change. 

It  makes  a  great  deal  of  difference  to  the  indi 
vidual  what  his  ideal  is,  and  it  also  makes  a  differ 
ence  to  those  about  him.  If  you  have  a  man  work 
ing  for  you,  it  makes  a  great  deal  of  difference  to 
you  whether  he  is  watching  you  all  the  time  to 
see  that  you  give  him  the  best  possible  pay  for 
his  work,  or  watching  himself  a  little  to  see  that 
he  gives  you  the  best  possible  work  for  his  pay. 
And  we  are  all  working  for  somebody.  Instead  of 
working  by  the  day  and  receiving  our  pay  at  night, 


246  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

or  instead  of  working  by  the  month  and  receiving 
our  pay  at  the  end  of  the  month,  we  may  be  in 
independent  business  and  receiving  a  compensation 
fixt  by  competition,  but  if  we  are  not  living  a  life  of 
idleness  we  must  be  working  for  somebody,  and  it 
makes  a  great  deal  of  difference  to  society  whether 
we  are  simply  bent  upon  absorbing  as  much  as 
possible  from  the  world,  or  are  trying  to  give  a 
dollar's  worth  of  service  for  a  dollar's  worth  of 
pay.  There  are  some  who  regard  it  as  a  discredit 
able  thing  to  engage  in  productive  labor.  There 
are  places  where  they  count  with  pride  the  num 
ber  of  generations  between  themselves  and  honest 
toil.  If  I  can  leave  but  one  thought  with  the 
young  men  who  honor  me  by  their  presence  on 
this  occasion,  let  it  be  this  thought — that  we  must 
all  have  food  and  clothing  and  shelter,  and  must 
either  earn  these  things  or  have  them  given  to 
us,  and  any  self-respecting  young  man  ought  to 
be  ashamed  to  sponge  upon  the  world  for  his  living 
and  not  render  unto  the  world  valuable  service  in 
return. 

Sometimes  you  meet  a  man  who  boasts  that  he 
is  "self-made,"  that  he  did  it  all  himself,  that  he 
owes  no  man  anything.  When  I  hear  of  a  man 
boasting  of  his  independence  I  feel  like  cross-ex 
amining  him.  We  owe  a  great  deal  to  environ 
ment.  I  was  going  along  by  the  side  of  the  court 
house  in  Chicago  one  wintry  day  when  I  was  in 
law  school  and  saw  some  little  boys  gambling  with 
their  pennies  in  a  warm  corner  by  the  building. 
A  question  arose  in  my  mind,  namely,  why  these 
little  fellows  were  born  and  reared  amid  an  envi- 


THE  VALUE  OF  AN  IDEAL  247 

ronment  that  gave  them  no  higher  ideals  of  life, 
while  so  many  in  Chicago  and  in  the  country  at 
large  were  born  amid  a  more  favorable  environ 
ment.  The  scene  made  an  impression  upon  my 
memory,  and  when  I  hear  a  man  boasting  that  he 
owes  no  one  anything,  I  feel  like  asking  him  wheth 
er  he  has  paid  back  the  debt  he  owes  to  father  and 
mother,  teacher  and  patriarch?  Whether  he  has 
paid  back  the  debt  he  owes  to  the  patriots  who 
with  blood  and  sacrifice  purchased  the  liberties 
which  we  now  enjoy.  We  have  received  so  much 
from  the  generations  past  and  from  those  about 
us  that,  instead  of  boasting  of  what  we  have  done, 
we  ought  to  learn  humility  and  be  content  if  at 
the  end  of  life  we  can  look  back  over  the  years 
and  be  assured  that  we  have  given  to  the  world 
a  service  equal  in  value  to  that  which  we  have 
received. 

There  is  abroad  in  the  land  a  speculative  spirit 
that  is  doing  much  harm.  Instead  of  trying  to 
earn  a  living,  young  men  are  bent  on  making  a 
fortune.  Not  content  with  the  slow  accumulations 
of  honest  toil,  they  are  seeking  some  short  cut  to 
riches,  and  are  not  always  scrupulous  about  the 
means  employed.  The  "get-rich-quick"  schemes 
that  spring  up  and  swindle  the  public  until  they 
are  discovered  and  driven  out  to  prey  upon  the 
speculative  spirit  and  find  all  their  victims 
among  those  who  are  trying  to  get  something  for 
nothing. 

What  we  need  today  is  an  ideal  of  life  that  will 
make  people  as  anxious  to  render  full  service  as 
they  are  to  draw  full  pay — an  ideal  that  will  make 


248  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

them  measure  life  by  what  they  bestow  upon  their 
fellows  and  not  by  what  they  receive. 

Not  only  must  the  individual  have  an  ideal,  but 
we  must  have  ideals  as  groups  of  individuals  and 
in  every  department  of  life.  We  have  our  domestic 
ideals.  Whether  a  marriage  is  happy  or  not  de 
pends  not  so  much  upon  the  size  of  the  house  or 
the  amount  of  the  income,  as  upon  the  ideals  with 
which  the  parties  enter  marriage.  If  two  people 
contract  marriage  like  some  people  trade  horses — 
each  one  trying  to  get  the  better  of  the  bargain — 
it  is  not  certain  that  the  marriage  will  be  a  happy 
one.  In  fact,  the  man  who  cheats  in  a  horse  trade 
has  at  least  one  advantage  over  the  man  who  cheats 
in  matrimony.  The  man  who  cheats  in  a  horse 
trade  may  console  himself  with  the  thought  that 
he  may  never  see  again  the  person  whom  he  has 
cheated.  Not  so  fortunate  is  the  man  who  cheats 
in  marriage.  He  not  only  sees  daily  the  person 
whom  he  has  cheated,  but  he  is  sometimes  reminded 
of  it — and  it  is  just  as  bad  if  the  cheating  is  done 
by  the  other  side.  Americans  sometimes  have  to 
blush  when  they  read  of  the  international  marri 
ages  so  much  discust  in  the  papers.  I  speak  not 
now  of  those  cases  where  love  leaps  across  the 
ocean  and  binds  two  hearts — there  are  such  cases 
and  they  are  worthy  of  a  blessing.  But  I  speak 
rather  of  those  commercial  transactions  which  are, 
by  courtesy,  called  marriages,  where  some  young 
woman  in  this  country  trades  a  fortune  that  she 
never  earned  to  a  broken-down  prince  in  another 
country  for  a  title  that  he  never  earned,  and  they 
call  it  a  fair  exchange.  I  have  sometimes  thought 


THE  VALUE  OF  AX  IDEAL          249 

that  it  might  be  worth  while  to  establish  papers 
in  the  centers  of  the  old  world  to  tell  the  people 
of  our  real  marriages,  so  that  they  would  not  mis 
understand  US. 

There  is  an  American  ideal  of  domestic  life. 
When  two  persons,  drawn  together  by  the  indissol 
uble  ties  of  love,  enter  marriage,  each  one  contrib 
uting  a  full  part  and  both  ready  to  share  life's 
struggles  and  trials  as  well  as  its  victories  and  its 
joys — when  these,  mutually  helpful  and  mutually 
forbearing,  start  out  to  build  an  American  home 
it  ought  to  be  the  fittest  earthly  type  of  heaven. 
"|  In  business  it  is  necessary  to  have  an  ideal..  It 
is  as  impossible  to  build  a  business  without  an 
ideal  as  it  is  to  build  a  house  without  a  plan.  Some 
think  that  competition  is  so  sharp  now  that  it  is 
impossible  to  be  strictly  honest  in  business;  some 
think  that  it  is  necessary  to  recommend  a  thing, 
not  as  it  is,  but  as  the  customer  wants  it  to  be. 
There  never  was  a  time  when  it  was  more  necessary 
than  it  is  today  that  business  should  be  built  upon 
a  foundation  of  absolute  integrity. 
..-In  the  professions,  also,  an  ideal  is  necessary. 
Take  the  medical  profession  for  illustration.  It 
is  proper  that  the  physician  should  collect  money; 
from  his  patients  for  he  must  live  while  he  helps 
others  to  live,  but  the  physicians  who  have  written 
their  names  high  upon  the  scroll  of  fame  have  had 
a  higher  ideal  than  the  making  of  mouey^  They 
have  had  a  passion  for  the  study  of  their  pro 
fession;  they  have  searched  diligently  for  the  hid 
den  causes  of  disease  and  the  remedies  therefor 
and  they  have  found  more  delight  in  giving  to  the 

II 17 


250  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

world  some  discovery  of  benefit  to  the  race   than 
they  have  found  in  all  of  the  money  that  they 
have  collected  from  their  patients. 
1  And  the  lawyer;  has  he  ideals?     Yes.     And  I 
suppose  the  ideals  of  lawyers  vary  as  much  as  the  \ 
ideals  in  any  other  profession.    The  lawyer's  ideals  ! 
have  an  influence  upon  his  character.    He  can  not  j 
persistently  defeat  justice,  or  even  ignore  it  with-] 
out  a  conscious  lowering  of  his  manhood,   while  1 
conscientious  search  for  justice  increases  his  power 
of  discernment  and  adds  to  his  moral  strength. 

Then,  too,  a  lawyer's  influence  with  the  judge 
depends  largely  upon  his  reputation  for  honesty. 
Of  course,  a  lawyer  can  fool  a  judge  a  few  times 
and  lead  him  into  a  hole,  but  after  awhile  the 
judge  learns  to  know  the  lawyer,  and  then  he  can 
not  follow  the  lawyer's  arguments  because  he  is 
looking  for  the  hole  all  the  time,  which  he  knows 
is  somewhere  and  which  he  is  trying  to  avoid.  I 
need  not  remind  you  that  nothing  is  so  valuable  to 
a  jury  lawyer  as  a  reputation  that  will  make  the 
jurors  believe  that  he  will  not  under  any  circum 
stances  misstate  a  proposition  of  law  or  of  evi 
dence.  And  so  I  might  take  up  each  occupation, 
calling  and  profession,  and  show  that  the  ideal 
controls  the  life,  determines  the  character  and  es 
tablishes  a  man's  place  among  his  fellows. 

But  let  me  speak  of  the  ideals  of  a  larger  group. 
What  of  our  political  ideals?  The  party  as  well 
as  the  individual  must  have  its  ideals,  and  we  are 
far  enough  from  the  election  to  admit  that  there 
is  room  in  all  the  parties  for  the  raising  of  the 
party  ideal.  How  can  a  person  most  aid  his  party  ? 


THE  VALUE  OF  AN  IDEAL          251 

Let  us  suppose  that  one  is  passionately  devoted  to 
his  party  and  anxious  to  render  it  the  maximum 
of  service;  how  can  he  render  this  service?  By 
raising  the  ideal  of  his  party.  If  a  young  man 
asks  me  how  he  can  make  a  fortune  in  a  day,  I 
cannot  tell  him.  If  he  asks  how  he  can  become  rich 
in  a  year,  I  know  not  what  to  answer  him,  but  I 
can  tell  him  that  if  he  will  locate  in  any  community 
and  for  twenty-five  years  live  an  honest  life,  an 
industrious  life,  a  useful  lif<\  he  will  make  friends 
and  fasten  them  to  him  with  hooks  of  steel ;  he 
will  make  his  impress  upon  the  community  and 
the  chances  are  many  to  one  that  before  the  quar 
ter  of  a  century  has  elapsed  his  fellows  will  call 
upon  him  to  act  for  them  and  to  represent  them  in 
important  matters. 

And  so  if  you  ask  me  how  we  can  win  an  elec 
tion  this  year,  I  do  not  know.  If  you  ask  me  how 
we  can  insure  a  victory  four  years  from  now,  I 
cannot  tell,  but  I  do  know  that  the  party  which 
has  the  highest  ideals  and  that  strives  most  earn 
estly  to  realize  its  ideals  will  ultimately  dom 
inate  this  country  and  make  its  impress  upon  the 
history  of  the  nation.  As  it  is  more  important  that 
the  young  man  shall  know  how  to  build  character 
and  win  a  permanent  success  than  that  he  shall 
know  how  to  become  rich  in  a  day,  so  it  is  more 
important  that  we  shall  know  how  to  contribute 
to  the  permanent  influence  of  a  party  than  it  is 
that  we  be  able  to  win  a  temporary  victory  or  dis 
tribute  the  spoils  of  office  after  a  successful  cam 
paign. 

The  country  is  suffering  to-day  from  a  demor- 


252  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

alization  of  its  ideals.  Instead  of  measuring  peo 
ple  by  the  manhood  or  womanhood  they  manifest, 
we  are  too  prone  to  measure  them  by  the  amount 
of  money  they  possess,  and  this  demoralization  has 
naturally  and  necessarily  extended  to  politics.. 
Instead  of  asking  "Is  it  right?"  we  are  tempted 
to  ask  "Will  it  pay?"  and  "Will  it  win?"  As  a 
result  the  public  conscience  is  becoming  seared  and 
the  public  service  debauched. f  We  find  corruption 
in  elections  and  corruption  in  office.  Men  sell 
their  votes,  councilmen  sell  their  influence,  while 
State  legislators  and  federal  representatives  turn 
the  government  from  its  legitimate  channels  and 
make  it  a  private  asset  in  business.  It  is  said  that 
in  some  precincts  in  Delaware  a  majority  of  the 
voters  have  been  paid  for  their  votes.  Governor 
Garvin  of  Rhode  Island  calls  attention  to  the  cor 
ruption  in  that  State;  there  is  corruption  in  Con 
necticut,  in  New  Jersey  and  in  Pennsylvania.  I 
learned  of  an  instance  in  New  York  where  a  farmer 
with  a  quarter-section  of  land  demanded  a  dollar 
and  a  half  for  his  vote,  and  I  learned  of  another 
instance  in  West  Virginia  where  a  man  came  in 
fourteen  miles  from  the  country  the  day  before 
election  to  notify  the  committee  that  he  would  not 
vote  the  next  clay  unless  he  received  a  dollar.  In 
some  places  I  found  that  Democrats  .were  imitating 
republican  methods.  They  excused  it  by  saying 
that  they  were  fighting  the  devil  with  fire.  This 
.is  no  excuse.  It  is  poor  policy  to  fight  the  devil 
/with  fire.  He  knows  more  about  fire  than  you  do 
and  does  not  have  to  pay  so  much  for  fuel.  I  was 
assured  that  the  democrats  did  not  buy  votes  ex- 


THE  VALUE  OF  AN  IDEAL  253 

actly  like  the  republicans.  I  was  assured  that  the 
democrats  only  bought  votes  when  they  found 
some  democrat  who  was  being  tempted  more  than 
he  could  bear,  and  that  they  only  used  money  to 
fortify  the  virtue  of  the  democrat  for  fear  he 
might  yield  to  temptation  and  become  vicious. 

How  are  we  to  stop  this  corruption?  Not  by 
going  into  the  market  and  bidding  against  our 
opponents,  but  by  placing  against  money  something 
stronger  than  money.  And  what  is  stronger  than 
money?  A  conscience  is  stronger  than  money.  A 
conscience  that  will  enable  a  man  to  stand  by  a 
stake  and  smile  while  the  flames  consume  him  is 
stronger  than  money,  and  we  must  appeal  to  the 
conscience — rot  to  a  democratic  conscience  or  to 
a  republican  conscience,  but  to  an  American  con 
science  and  to  a  Christian  conscience  and  place 
this  awakened  conscience  against  the  omflowing 
tide  of  corruption  in  the  United  States. 

We  must  have  parties  in  this  country.  Jeffer 
son  said  that  there  were  naturally  two  parties  in 
every  country — a  democratic  party  and  an  aristo 
cratic  party  (and  he  did  not  use  the  word  ''demo 
cratic"  in  a  partisan  sense,  for  at  that  time  the 
party  which  we  now  call  democratic  was  called 
the  republican  party).  Jefferson  said  that  a  dem 
ocratic  party  would  naturally  draw  to  itself  those 
who  believe  in  the  people  and  trust  them,  while 
an  aristocratic  party  would  naturally  draw  to  itself 
those  who  do  not  believe  in  or  trust  the  people. 
Jefferson  was  right.  Go  into  any  country  in  Eu 
rope,  and  you  will  find  a  party  of  some  name  that 
is  trying  to  increase  the  participation  of  the  peo- 


254  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

pie  in  the  government,  and  you  will  also  find  a 
party  of  some  name  which  is  obstructing  every 
step  toward  popular  government.  We  have  the 
same  difference  in  this  country,  but  the  democratic 
spirit  is  broader  here  than  any  party.  Wherever 
the  question  has  been  clearly  presented  and  on  the 
one  side  there  was  an  attempt  to  carry  the  govern 
ment  nearer  to  the  people  and  on  the  other  an 
effort  to  carry  the  government  further  from  the 
people,  popular  government  has  always  won.  Let 
me  illustrate.  The  Australian  ballot  is  intended 
to  protect  the  citizen  in  his  right  to  vote,  and  thus 
give  effect  to  the  real  wishes  of  the  people,  and 
when  this  reform  was  proposed  it  swept  the  coun 
try  without  regard  to  the  party  in  power  in  the 
various  States.  Take  the  demand  for  the  election 
of  senators  by  the  people ;  upon  what  does  it  rest  ? 
Upon  the  belief  that  the  people  have  the  right  to 
and  the  capacity  for  self-government.  The  senti 
ment  in  favor  of  this  reform  has  grown  until  a 
resolution  proposing  a  constitutional  amendment 
has  passed  the  Lower  House  of  Congress  four  times 
— twice  when  the  house  was  democratic  and  twice 
when  it  was  republican.  This  reform  is  sure  to 
come,  because  the  people  believe  in  self-govern 
ment,  and  they  will  in  time  insist  upon  making 
the  government  conform  to  their  belief. 

The  initiative  and  referendum  involve  the  same 
principles.  The  initiative  describes  the  process 
by  which  the  people  compel  the  submission  of  a 
question  upon  which  they  desire  to  vote,  and  the 
referendum  describes  the  process  by  which  they 
act  upon  a  question  submitted.  In  each  new  char- 


THE  VALUE  OF  AN  IDEAL  255 

ter  the  power  of  the  people  is  increased.  Limita 
tions  are  placed  upon  legislative  power  and  new 
questions  are  submitted  to  a  popular  vote.  It  is 
now  necessary  almost  everywhere  to  submit  to  the 
people  of  a  city  the  question  of  issuing  bonds. 
The  movement  in  favor  of  submitting  franchises 
also  is  an  irresistible  one,  and  the  time  will  come 
\vhen  it  will  be  impossible  for  councilmen  to  sell 
franchises  in  return  for  money  paid  to  themselves. 

Switzerland  is  probably  the  most  democratic 
country  in  the  world.  There  the  initiative  and 
referendum  are  employed  by  both  the  federal 
government  and  by  the  local  subdivisions,  and  the 
government  is  completely  responsive  to  the  will  of 
the  people. 

In  order  to  formulate  a  party  ideal,  we  must 
have  a  theory  of  government  as  a  basis,  and  in 
this  country  the  fundamental  principle  of  govern 
ment  is  that  the  people  have  a  right  to  have  what 
they  want  in  legislation.  I  made  this  statement  in 
a  lecture  in  Michigan  and  one  of  the  audience  took 
issue  with  me.  He  said  that  I  ought  to  amend 
the  statement  and  say  that  the  people  have  a  right 
to  have  what  they  want,  provided  they  want  what 
is  right.  I  asked  him  who  would  decide  the  ques 
tion  of  right.  And  he  had  to  admit  that,  at  last, 
the  decision  lay  with  the  people.  Constitutions 
place  limitations  upon  legislatures  and  upon  the 
people  themselves,  but  the  constitutions  are  made 
by  the  people  and  can  be  changed  by  the  people. 
The  only  escape  from  the  rule  of  the  majority  is 
to  be  found  in  the  rule  of  the  minority,  but  if  a 
majority  make  mistakes,  would  not  a  minority 


256  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

also?  Mistakes  made  by  a  majority  will  be  cor 
rected  when  they  are  discovered,  but  mistakes 
made  by  a  minority  may  not  be  corrected  if  the 
mistake  is  pecuniarily  advantageous  to  those  in 
power.  The  revolutions  that  have  from  time  to 
time  shaken  the  world  have  been  caused  largely 
by  the  refusal  of  the  minority  to  correct  mistakes 
beneficial  to  those  who  make  the  mistakes  but  in 
jurious  to  the  people  at  large.  Bearing  in  mind 
the  right  of  the  people  to  deliberately  fix  the  means 
by  which  they  will  express  themselves,  and  their 
right  to  place  limitations  upon  themselves,  so  that 
they  cannot  act  hastily  or  under  a  sudden  impulse, 
I  repeat  that  the  people  have  a  right  to  have  what 
they  want  in  government.  If  they  want  a  high 
tariff,  they  have  a  right  to  it;  if  they  want  a  low 
tariff,  they  have  a  right  to  that.  They  have  a 
right  to  make  tariff  laws  and  to  repeal  them.  They 
have  a  right  to  the  gold  standard  if  they  want  it, 
and  they  have  a  right  to  the  double  standard  if 
they  desire  that,  or  if  they  prefer  they  can  demon 
etize  both  gold  and  silver  and  substitute  some  other 
kind  of  money.  If  gold  and  silver  furnish  too 
much  money,  they  can  strike  down  one;  if  the  re 
maining  metal  still  furnishes  too  much,  they  can 
strike  that  down  and  substitute  something  scarcer. 
Ever  since  the  discovery  of  radium,  of  which  it  is 
said  there  are  but  two  pounds  in  the  world,  I  have 
been  fearful  that  an  attempt  would  be  made  to 
make  it  the  standard  money  of  the  country.  But 
if  the  people  decide  to  demonetize  both  gold  and 
'  silver  and  substitute  radium  I  will  still  insist  that 
they  have  a  ri<rht  to  do  it.  And  then,  if  they 


THE  VALUE  OF  AX  IDEAL          257 

then  decide  to  give  Morgan  one  pound  and  Rocke 
feller  the  other,  I  shall  still  stand  with  the  peo 
ple  and  watch  Rockefeller  and  Morgan  while  they 
use  the  money. 

The  people  have  a  right  to  have  trusts  if  they   \ 
want  them.    They  have  a  right  to  have  one  trust, "   \ 
a  hundred  trusts  or  a  thousand,  and  they  also  have 
a  right  to  kill  every  private  monopoly. 

If  the  people  have  a  right  to  have  what  they 
want,  then  the  duty  of  the  party  is  plain.  It  is  to 
present  to  the  people  a  code  of  principles  and  pol 
icies  to  be  acted  upon  by  them.  Who  can  defend 
the  practising  of  deception  upon  the  voters?  Who 
can  justify  the  winning  of  a  victory  by  false  pre 
tense?  Who  can  excuse  a  fraud  upon  the  people? 
No  one  can  defend  a  party  ideal  that  does  not 
require  honesty  in  party  contests.  The  policy  of 
the  party  must  be  determined  by  the  voters  of  the 
party,  and  he  must  have  a  low  conception  of  poli 
tical  ethics  who  would  seek  by  stealth  to  give  to 
the  minority  of  the  party  the  authority  that  be 
longs  to  the  majority.  And  so  he  must  have  a  low 
conception  of  political  ethics  who  would  seek  to 
secure  for  a  minority  of  the  people  the  authority 
that  belongs  to  a  majority.  I  want  my  party  to 
write  an  honest  platform,  dealing  candidly  with 
the  questions  at  issue;  I  want  it  to  nominate  a 
ticket  composed  of  men  who  conscientiously  believe 
in  the  principles  of  the  party  as  enunciated,  and 
then  I  want  the  party  to  announce  to  the  country 
" These  are  our  principles;  these  are  our  candi 
dates.  Elect  them  and  they  will  carry  out  the 
principles  for  which  they  stand;  they  will  not 


258  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

under  any  circumstances  betray  the  trust  com 
mitted  to  their  keeping." 

This  is  the  ideal  that  the  democratic  party  ought 
to  have  and  it  is  an  ideal  high  enough  for  every 
party. 

There  is  this  difference  between  the  ideal  and 
other  things  of  value,  namely,  that  an  ideal  cannot 
be  patented  or  copyrighted.  We  often  see  things 
that  we  cannot  hope  to  possess,  but  there  is  no  ideal, 
however  high,  that  cannot  be  ours  if  we  desire  it. 
The  highest  ideal  of  human  life  that  this  world  has 
ever  known  was  that  furnished  by  the  life  of  the 
Man  of  Galilee,  but  it  was  an  ideal  within  the 
comprehension  of  the  fishermen  of  his  day,  and 
the  Bible  says  of  Him  that  the  common  people 
heard  Him  gladly.  So  with  a  high  party  ideal. 
It  can  be  comprehended  by  all  the  members  of  the 
party,  and  it  can  be  adopted  by  every  party.  If 
we  can  fight  out  political  battles  upon  this  plane 
there  is  no  humiliation  about  defeat.  I  have  passed 
through  two  presidential  campaigns,  and  many 
have  rejoiced  over  my  defeats,  but  if  events  prove 
that  my  defeats  have  been  good  for  this  country, 
I  shall  rejoice  over  them  myself  more  than  any 
opponent  has  rejoiced.  And  when  I  say  this  I  am 
not  unselfish,  for  it  is  better  for  me  that  my  politi 
cal  opponents  should  bring  good  to  my  country 
than  that  I  should  by  any  mistake  of  mine  bring 
evil. 

Not  only  must  the  party  have  an  ideal,  but  the 
nation  must  also  have  its  ideal,  and  it  is  the  ideal 
of  this  nation  that  has  made  it  known  throughout 
the  world.  You  will  find  people  in  foreign  lands 


THE  VALUE  OF  AN  IDEAL  259 

who  do  not  know  our  population  or  the  number 
of  acres  under  our  flag.  You  will  find  people  who 
do  not  know  how  many  cattle  we  raise  or  how  much  V 
corn  or  cotton  we  export,  but  you  will  not  find  / 
people  anywhere  who  have  not  some  conception  of/ 
the  nation's  ideal.  This  ideal  has  been  a  light/ 
shining  out  unto  all  the  world  and  its  rays  have/ 
illumined  the  shores  of  every  land.  We  have 
boasted  of  this  .ideal  in  the  past,  and  it  must  not 
be  lowered  now.  We  followed  this  ideal  in  dealing 
with  Cuba.  It  was  my  good  fortune  to  be  in  Cuba 
on  the  day  when  the  formal  transfer  took  place, 
and  I  never  was  more  proud  of  my  nation  in  my 
life  than  I  was  on  the  20th  day  of  May,  1902, 
when  this  great  republic  rose  superior  to  a  great 
temptation,  recognized  the  inalienable  rights  of 
the  people  of  Cuba  and  secured  to  them  the  fruits 
of  a  victory  for  which  they  had  struggled  and  sac 
rificed  for  more  than  a  generation.  We  hauled 
down  the  flag,  it  is  true,  and  in  its  place  they 
raised  the  flag  of  the  Cuban  republic,  but  When  we 
lowered  the  flag  we  raised  it  higher  than  it  ever 
had  been  before,  and  when  we  brought  it  away  we 
left  it  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  a  grateful  people. 
A  nation,  like  an  individual,  is  strong  in  propor-v 
tion  as  it  possesses  virtue,  and  weak  if  it  lacks  it. 
Character  is  the  power  of  endurance  in  the  group 
as  well  as  in  the  person.  The  nations  that  have 
fallen  have  decayed  morally  before  they  have  failed 
physically.  If  our  nation  is  to  endure,  it  must 
stand  for  eternal  principles  and  clothe  itself 
in  their  strength.  There  are  some  who  say  that  we 
must  now  have  the  largest  navy  in  the  world  to 


260  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

terrorize  other  nations,  and  make  them  respect  us. 
But  if  we  make  our  navy  the  largest  in  the  world, 
other  nations  will  increase  their  navies  because  we 
have  increased  ours,  and  then  we  will  have  to  in 
crease  ours  again,  because  they  will  have  increased 
theirs,  and  they  will  have  to  increase  theirs  again 
because  we  have  increased  ours — and  there  is  no 
limit  to  this  rivalry,  but  the  limit  of  the  power  of 
the  people  to  bear  the  burdens  of  taxation.  There 
is  a  better,  a  safer  and  a  less  expensive  plan.  In 
stead  of  trying  to  make  our  navy  the  largest  in  the 
world,  let  us  try  to  make  our  government  the  best 
government  on  earth.  Instead  of  trying  to  make 
our  flag  float  everywhere,  let  us  make  it  stand  for 
justice  wherever  it  floats — for  justice  between  man 
and  man,  for  justice  between  nation  and  nation, 
and  for  humanity  always.  And  then  the  people 
of  the  world  will  learn  to  know  and  revere  that 
flag,  because  it  will  be  their  protection  as  well  as 
ours.  And  then  if  any  king  raises  his  hand  against 
our  flag  the  opprest  people  of  his  own  land  will 
rise  up  and  say  to  him  " Hands  off!  That  flag 
stands  for  our  rights  as  well  as  the  rights  of  the 
American  people."  It  is  possible  to  make  our  flag 
represent  such  an  ideal.  /  fWe  shall  not  fulfil  our 
great  mission,  we  shall  not  live  up  to  our  high 
duty,  unless  we  present  to  the  world  the  highest 
ideals  in  individual  life,  in  domestic  life,  in  busi 
ness  life,  in  professional  life,  in  political  life — and 
the  highest  national  ideal  that  the  world  has  ever 
known. 


II 

THE   PRINCE  OF  PEACE 

A  lecture  delivered  at  runny  Chautftuquas  and  religious 
gatherings,  in(  America,  beginning  in  1904 ;  also  in  Canada, 
Mexico,  Tokyo,  Manila,  Bombay,  Cairo  and  Jerusalem. 

I  OFFER  no  apology  for  speaking  upon  a  relig 
ious  theme,  for  it  is  the  most  universal  of 
all  themes.  I  am  interested  in  the  science  of 
government,  but  I  am  more  interested  in  religion 
than  in  government.  I  enjoy  making  a  political 
speech — I  have  made  a  good  many,  and  shall  make 
more — but  I  would  rather  speak  on  religion  than 
on  politics.  I  commenced  speaking  on  the  stump 
when  I  was  only  twenty,  but  I  commenced  speaking 
in  the  church  six  years  earlier — and  I  shall  be  in 
the  church  even  after  I  am  out  of  politics.  I  feel 
sure  of  my  ground  when  I  make  a  political  speech, 
but  I  feel  even  more  certain  of  my  ground  when 
I  make  a  religious  speech.  ,  If  I  addrest  you  upon 
the  subject  of  law  I  might  interest  the  lawyers; 
if  I  discust  the  science  of  medicine  I  might  inter 
est  the  physicians;  in  like  manner  merchants 
might  be  interested  in  comments  on  commerce,  and 
farmers  in  matters  pertaining  to  agriculture;  but^ 
no  one  of  these  subjects  appeals  to  all.  r*Even  the 
science  of  government,  tho  broader  than  any  pro 
fession  or  occupation,  does  not  embrace  the  whole 
sum  of  life,  and  those  who  think  upon  it  differ  so 
among  themselves  that  I  could  not  speak  upon 
(261) 


262  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

the  subject  so  as  to  please  a  part  of  the  audience 
without  displeasing  others.  While  to  me  the  science 
of  government  is  intensely  absorbing,  I  recognize 
that  the  most  important  things  in  life  lie  outside 
of  the  realm  of  government  and  that  more  depends 
upon  what  the  individual  does  for  himself  than 
upon  what  the  government  does  or  can  do  for  him. 
Men  can  be  miserable  under  the  best  government 
and  they  can  be  happy  under  the  worst  govern 
ment.  ^ 

Government  affects  but  a  part  of  the  life  which 
we  live  here  and  does  not  deal  at  all  with  the  life 
beyond,  whil^/religion  touches  the  infinite  circle 
of  existence  as  well  as  the  small  arc  of  that  circle 
which  we  spend  on  earth.  No  greater  theme,  there 
fore,  can  engage  our  attention.plf  I  discuss  ques 
tions  of  government  I  must  secure  the  cooperation 
of  a  majority  before  I  can  put  my  ideas  into  prac 
tise,  but  if,  in  speaking  on  religion,  I  can  touch 
one  human  heart  for  good,  I  have  not  spoken  in 
vain  no  matter  how  large  the  majority  may  be 
against  me. 

Man  is  a.  religious  being ;  the  heart  instinctively 
seeks  for  a  God.  Whether  he  worships  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ganges,  prays  with  his  face  upturned 
to  the  sun,  kneels  toward  Mecca  or,  regarding  all 
space  as  a  temple,  communes  with  the  Heavenly 
Father  according  to  the  Christian  creed,  man  is 
essentially  devout.  Q 

There  are  honest  doubters  whose  sincerity  we 
recognize  and  respect,  but  occasionally  I  find  young 
men  who  think  it  smart  to  be  skeptical;  they  talk 
as  if  it  were  an  evidence  of  larger  intelligence  to 


THE  PRINCE  OP  PEACE  263 

scoff  at  creeds  and  to  refuse  to  connect  themselves 
with  churches.  They  call  themselves  "Liberal," 
as  if  a  Christian  were  narrow  minded.  Some  go 
so  far  as  to  assert  that  the  "advanced  thought  of 
the  world"  has  discarded  the  idea  that  there  is  a 
God.  To  these  young  men  I  desire  to  address  my 
self.  7 

Even  some  older  people  profess  to  regard  religion 
as  a  superstition,  pardonable  in  the  ignorant  but 
unworthy  of  the  educated.  Those  who  hold  this 
view  look  down  with  mild  contempt  upon  such 
as  give  to  religion  a  definite  place  in  their  thoughts 
and  lives.  They  assume  an  intellectual  superiority 
and  often  take  little  pains  to  conceal  the  assump 
tion.^  Tolstoy  administers  to  the  "cultured  crowd" 
(the  wrords  quoted  are  his)  a  severe  rebuke  when 
he  declares  that  the  religious  sentiment  rests  not 
upon  a  superstitious  fear  of  the  invisible  forces 
of  nature,  but  upon  man's  consciousness  of  his 
finiteness  amid  an  infinite  universe  and  of  his  sin- 
fulness;  and  this  consciousness,  the  great  philoso 
pher  adds,  man  can  never  outgrow.  Tolstoy  is 
right;  man  recognizes  how  limited  are  his  own 
powers  and  how  vast  is  the  universe,  and  he  leans 
upon  the  arm  that  is  stronger  than  his.  Man  feels 
the  weight  of  his  sins  and  looks  for  One  who  is 
sinless.  ^ 

Religion  has  been  defined  by  Tolstoy  as  the  rela 
tion  which  man  fixes  between  himself  and  his  God, 
and  morality  as  the  outward  manifestation  of  this 
inward  relat  ion.  j?  Every  one,  by  the  time  he  reaches 
maturity,  has  fixt  some  relation  between  himself 
and  God  and  no  material  change  in  this  relation 


264  BEYAN'S  SPEECHES 

can  take  place  without  a  revolution  in  the  man, 
for  this  relation  is  the  most  potent  influence  that 
acts  upon  a  human  life. 

Religion  is  the  foundation  of  morality  in  Ihe 
individual  and  in  the  group  of  individualsy/Ma- 
terjalists  have  attempted  to  build  up  a  system  of 
morality  upon  the  basis  of  enlightened  self-inter 
est.  They  would  have  man  figure  out  by  mathe 
matics  that  it  pays  him  to  abstain  from  wrong 
doing;  they  would  even  inject  an  element  of  sel 
fishness  into  altruism,  but  the  moral  system  elab 
orated  by  the  materialists  has  several  defects. 
First,  its  virtues  are  borrowed  from  moral  systems 
based  upon  religion.  All  those  who  are  intelligent 
enough  to  discuss  a  system  of  morality  are  so  sat 
urated  with  the  morals  derived  from  systems  rest 
ing  upon  religion  that  they  cannot  frame  a  system 
resting  upon  reason  alone.  Second,  as  it  rests 
upon  argument  rather  than  upon  authority,  the 
young  are  not  in  a  position  to  accept  or  reject. 
Our  laws  do  not  permit  a  young  man  to  dispose 
of  real  estate  until  he  is  twenty-one.  Why  this 
restraint?  Because  his  reason  is  not  mature;  and 
yet  a  man's  life  is  largely  moulded  by  the  environ 
ment  of  his  youth.  Third,  one  never  knows  just 
how  much  of  his  decision  is  due  to  reason  and 
how  much  is  due  to  passion  or  to  selfish  interest. 
Passion  can  dethrone  the  reason — we  recognize  this 
in  our  criminal  laws.  We  also  recognize  the  bias 
of  self-interest  when  we  exclude  from  the  jury 
every  man,  no  matter  how  reasonable  or  upright 
he  may  be,  who  has  a  pecuniary  interest  in  the 
result  of  the  trial.  And,  fourth,  one  whose  moral- 


THE  PRINCE  OF  PEACE  265 

ity  rests  upon  a  nice  calculation  of  benefits  to  be 
secured  spends  time  figuring  that  he  should  spend 
in  action.  Those  who  keep  a  book  account  of  their 
good  deeds  seldom  do  enough  good  to  justify  keep 
ing  books.  A  noble  life  cannot  be  built  upon  an 
arithmetic;  it  must  be  rather  like  the  spring  that 
pours  forth  constantly  of  that  which  refreshes  and 
invigorates. 

Morality  is  the  power  of  endurance  in  man; 
and  a  religion  which  teaches  personal  responsibility 
to  God  gives  strength  to  morality.  There  is  a 
powerful  restraining  influence  in  the  belief  that 
an  all-seeing  eye  scrutinizes  every  thought  and 
word  and  act  of  the  individual. 

There  is  wide  difference  between  the  man  who 
is  trying  to  conform  his  life  to  a  standard  of 
morality  about  him  and  the  man  who  seeks  to 
make  his  life  approximate  to  a  divine  standard. 
The  former  attempts  to  live  up  to  the  standard, 
if  it  is  above  him,  and  down  to  it,  if  it  is  below 
him — and  if  he  is  doing  right  only  when  others 
are  looking  he  is  sure  to  find  a  time  when  he  thinks 
he  is  unobserved,  and  then  he  takes  a  vacation 
and  falls.  One  needs  the  inner  strength  which 
comes  with  the  conscious  presence  of  a  personal 
God.  If  those  who  are  thus  fortified  sometimes 
yield  to  temptation,  how  helpless  and  hopeless  must 
those  be  who  rely  upon  their  own  strength  alone! 

There  are  difficulties  to  be  encountered  in  relig 
ion,  but  there  are  difficulties  to  be  encountered 
everywhere,  if  Christians  sometimes  have  doubts 
and  fears,  unbelievers  have  more  doubts  and  great 
er  fears.  I  passed  through  a  period  of  skepticism 

II  18 


266  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

when  I  was  in  college  and  I  have  been  glad  ever 
since  that  I  became  a  member  of  the  church  before 
I  left  home  for  college,  for  it  helped  me  during 
those  trying  days.  And  the  college  days  cover  the 
dangerous  period  in  the  young  man's  life;  he  is 
just  coming  into  possession  of  his  powers,  and  feels 
stronger  than  he  ever  feels  afterward — and  he 
thinks  he  knows  more  than  he  ever  does  know. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  I  became  confused  by 
the  different  theories  of  creation.  But  I  examined 
these  theories  and  found  that  they  all  assumed 
something  to  begin  with.  You  can  test  this  for 
yourselves.  The  nebular  hypothesis,  for  instance, 
assumes  that  matter  and  force  existed — matter  in 
particles  infinitely  fine  and  each  particle  separated 
from  every  other  particle  by  space  infinitely  great. 
Beginning  with  this  assumption,  force  working  on 
matter — according  to  this  hypothesis — created  a 
universe.  Well,  I  have  a  right  to  assume,  and  I 
prefer  to  assume,  a  Designer  back  of  the  design — 
a  Creator  back  of  the  creation ;  and  no  matter  how 
long  you  draw  out  the  process  of  creation,  so  long 
as  God  stands  back  of  it  you  cannot  shake  my 
faith  in  Jehovah.  In  Genesis  it  is  written  that,  in 
the  beginning,  God  created  the  heavens  and  the 
earth,  and  I  can  stand  on  that  proposition  until  I 
find  some  theory  of  creation. that  goes  farther  back 
than  ' '  the  beginning. ' '  We  must  begin  with  some 
thing — we  must  start  somewhere — and  the  Chris 
tian  begins  with  God. 

I  do  not  carry  the  doctrine  of  evolution  as  far 
as  some  do ;  I  am  not  yet  convinced  that  man  is  a 
lineal  descendant  of  the  lower  animals.  I  do  not 


THE  PRINCE  OF  PEACE  267 

mean  to  find  fault  with  you  if  you  want  to  accept 
the  theory;  all  I  mean  to  say  is  that  while  you 
may  trace  your  ancestry  back  to  the  monkey  if 
you  find  pleasure  or  pride  in  doing  so,  you  shall 
not  connect  me  with  your  family  tree  without  more 
evidence  than  has  yet  been  produced.  I  object 
to  the  theory  for  several  reasons.  First,  it  is  a 
dangerous  theory.  If  a  man  links  himself  in  gen 
erations  with  the  monkey,  it  then  becomes  an  im 
portant  question  whether  he  is  going  toward  him 
or  coming  from  him — and  I  have  seen  them  going 
in  both  directions.  I  do  not  know  of  any  argument 
that  can  be  used  to  prove  that  man  is  an  improved 
monkey  that  may  not  be  used  just  as  wrell  to  prove 
that  the  monkey  is  a  degenerate  man,  and  the  latter 
theory  is  more  plausible  than  the  former. 

It  is  true  that  man,  in  some  physical  character 
istics  resembles  the  beast,  but  man  has  a  mind 
as  well  as  a  body,  and  a  soul  as  well  as  a  mind. 
The  mind  is  greater  than  the  body  and  the  soul 
is  greater  than  the  mind,  and  I  object  to  having 
man's  pedigree  traced  on  one-third  of  him  only 
— and  that  the  lowest  third.  Fairbairn,  in  his 
''Philosophy  of  Christianity,"  lays  down  a  sound 
proposition  when  he  says  that  it  is  not  suffi 
cient  to  explain  man  as  an  animal ;  that  it  is 
necessary  to  explain  man  in  history — and  the 
Darwinian  theory  does  not  do  this.  The  ape,  ac 
cording  to  this  theory,  is  older  than  man  and  yet 
the  ape  is  still  an  ape  while  man  is  the  author  of 
the  marvelous  civilization  which  we  see  about  us. 

One  does  not  escape  from  mystery,  however,  by 
accepting  this  theory,  for  it  does  not  explain  the 


268  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

origin  of  life.  When  the  follower  of  Darwin  has 
traced  the  germ  of  life  back  to  the  lowest  form  iri 
which  it  appears — and  to  follow  him  one  must  exer 
cise  more  faith  than  religion  calls  for — he  finds  that 
scientists  differ.  Those  who  reject  the  idea  of  cre 
ation  are  divided  into  two  schools,  some  believing 
that  the  first  germ  of  life  came  from  another  planet 
and  others  holding  that  it  was  the  result  of  spon 
taneous  generation.  Each  school  answers  the  argu 
ments  advanced  by  the  other,  and  as  they  cannot 
agree  with  each  other,  I  am  not  compelled  to  agree 
with  either. 

If  I  were  compelled  to  accept  one  of  these  the 
ories  I  would  prefer  the  first,  for  if  we  can  chase 
the  germ  of  life  off  this  planet  and  get  it  out  into 
space  we  can  guess  the  rest  of  the  way  and  no  one 
can  contradict  us,  but  if  we  accept  the  doctrine 
of  spontaneous  generation  we  cannot  explain  why 
spontaneous  generation  ceased  to  act  after  the 
first  germ  was  created. 

Go  back  as  far  as  we  may,  we  cannot  escape 
from  the  creative  act,  and  it  is  just  as  easy  for 
me  to  believe  that  God  created  man  as  he  is  as  to 
believe  that,  millions  of  years  ago,  He  created  a 
germ  of  life  and  endowed  it  with  power  to  develop 
into  all  that  we  see  to-day.  I  object  to  the  Dar 
winian  theory,  until  more  conclusive  proof  is 
produced,  because  I  fear  we  shall  lose  the  conscious 
ness  of  God's  presence  in  our  daily  life,  if  we  must 
accept  the  theory  that  through  all  the  ages  no 
spiritual  force  has  touched  the  life  of  man  or 
shaped  the  destiny  of  nations. 

But  there  is  another  objection.    The  Darwinian 


THE  PRINCE  OF  PEACE  269 

theory  represents  man  as  reaching  his  present  per 
fection  by  the  operation  of  the  law  of  hate — the 
merciless  law  by  which  the  strong  crowd  out  and 
kill  off  the  weak.  If  this  is  the  law  of  our  devel 
opment  then,  if  there  is  any  logic  that  can  bind 
the  human  mind,  we  shall  turn  backward  toward 
the  b«ast  in  proportion  as  we  substitute  the  lawT 
of  love.  I  prefer  to  believe  that  love  rather  than 
hatred  is  the  law  of  development.  How  can  hatred 
be  the  law  of  development  when  nations  have  ad 
vanced  in  proportion  as  they  have  departed  'from 
that  law  and  adopted  the  law  of  love  ? 

But,  I  repeat,  while  I  do  not  accept  the  Dar 
winian  theory  I  shall  not  quarrel  with  you  about 
it ;  I  only  refer  to  it  to  remind  you  that  it  does  not 
solve  the  mystery  of  life  or  explain  human  progress. 
I  fear  that  some  have  accepted  it  in  the  hope  of 
escaping  from  the  miracle,  but  why  should  the 
miracle  frighten  us?  And  yet  I  am  inclined  to 
think  that  it  is  one  of  the  test  questions  with  the 
Christian. 

Christ  cannot  be  separated  from  the  miraculous; 
His  birth,  His  ministrations,  and  His  resurrection, 
all  involve  the  miraculous,  and  the  change  which 
His  religion  works  in  the  human  heart  is  a  con 
tinuing  miracle.  Eliminate  the  miracles  and 
Christ  becomes  merely  a  human  being  and  His  gos 
pel  is  stript  of  divine  authority. 

The  miracle  raises  two  questions:  "Can  God 
perform  a  miracle?"  and,  "Would  He  want  to?" 
The  first  is  easy  to  answer.  A  God  who  can  make 
a  world  can  do  anything  He  wants  to  do  with  it. 
The  power  to  perform  miracles  is  necessarily  im- 


270  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

plied  in  the  power  to  create.  But  would  God  want 
to  perform  a  miracle? — this  is  the  question  which 
has  given  most  of  the  trouble.  The  more  I  have 
considered  it  the  less  inclined  I  am  to  answer  in 
the  negative.  To  say  that  God  would  not  perform 
a  miracle  is  to  assume  a  more  intimate  knowledge 
of  God's  plans  and  purposes  than  I  can  claim  to 
have.  I  will  not  deny  that  God  does  perform  a 
miracle  or  may  perform  one  merely  because  I  do 
not  know  how  or  why  He  does  it.  I  find  it  so  diffi 
cult  to  decide  each  day  what  God  wants  done  now 
that  I  am  not  presumptuous  enough  to  attempt  to 
declare  what  God  might  have  wanted  to  do  thou 
sands  of  years  ago.  The  fact  that  we  are  con 
stantly  learning  of  the  existence  of  new  forces 
suggests  the  possibility  that  God  may  operate 
through  forces  yet  unknown  to  us,  and  the 
mysteries  with  which  we  deal  every  day  warn  me 
that  faith  is  as  necessary  as  sight.  Who  would 
have  credited  a  century  ago  the  stories  that  are 
now  told  of  the  wonder-working  electricity?  For 
ages  man  had  known  the  lightning,  but  only  to 
fear  it;  now,  this  invisible  current  is  generated 
by  a  man-made  machine,  imprisoned  in  a  man- 
made  wire  and  made  to  do  the  bidding  of  man. 
We  are  even  able  to  dispense  with  the  wire  and 
hurl  words  through  space,  and  the  X-raj'  has  en 
abled  us  to  look  through  substances  which  were 
supposed,  until  recently,  to  exclude  all  light.  The 
miracle  is  not  more  mysterious  than  many  of  the 
things  with  which  man  now  deals — it  is  simply 
different.  The  miraculous  birth  of  Christ  is  not 
more  mysterious  than  any  other  conception — it  is 


THE  PRINCE  OF  PEACE  271 

simply  unlike  it;  nor  is  the  resurrection  of  Christ 
more  mysterious  than  the  myriad  resurrections 
which  mark  each  annual  seed-time. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  God  could  not  suspend 
one  of  His  laws  without  stopping  the  universe, 
but  do  we  not  suspend  or  overcome  the  law  of  grav 
itation  every  day?  Every  time  we  move  a  foot  or 
lift  a  weight  we  temporarily  overcome  one  of  the 
most  universal  of  natural  laws  and  yet  the  world 
is  not  disturbed. 

Science  has  taught  us  so  many  things  that  we 
are  tempted  to  conclude  that  we  know  everything, 
but  there  is  really  a  great  unknown  which  is  still 
unexplored  and  that  which  we  have  learned  ought 
to  increase  our  reverence  rather  than  our  egotism. 
Science  has  disclosed  some  of  the  machinery  of  the 
universe,  but  science  has  not  yet  revealed  to  us 
the  great  secret — the  secret  of  life.  It  is  to  be 
found  in  every  blade  of  grass,  in  every  insect,  in 
every  bird  and  in  every  animal,  as  well  as  in  man. 
Six  thousand  years  of  recorded  history  and  yet 
we  know  no  more  about  the  secret  of  life  than  they 
knew  in  the  beginning.  We  live,  we  plan ;  we  have 
our  hopes,  our  fears ;  and  yet  in  a  moment  a  change 
may  come  over  anyone  of  us  and  this  body  will 
become  a  mass  of  lifeless  clay.  What  is  it  that, 
having,  we  live,  and  having  not,  we  are  as  the 
clod  ?  The  progress  of  the  race  and  the  civilization 
wThich  we  now  behold  are  the  work  of  men  and 
women  who  have  not  yet  solved  the  mystery  of 
their  own  lives. 

And  our  food,  must  we  understand  it  before  we 
eat  it?  If  we  refused  to  eat  anything  until  we 


272  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

could  understand  the  mystery  of  its  growth,  we 
would  die  of  starvation.  But  mystery  does  not 
bother  us  in  the  dining-room;  it  is  only  in  the 
church  that  it  is  a  stumbling  block. 

I  was  eating  a  piece  of  watermelon  some  months 
ago  and  was  struck  with  its  beauty.  I  took  some 
of  the  seeds  and  dried  them  and  weighed  them, 
and  found  that  it  would  require  some  five  thousand 
seeds  to  weigh  a  pound ;  and  then  I  applied  mathe 
matics  to  that  forty-pound  melon.  One  of  these 
seeds,  put  into  the  ground,  when  warmed  by  the 
sun  and  moistened  by  the  rain,  takes  off  its  coat 
and  goes  to  work;  it  gathers  from  somewhere  two 
hundred  thousand  times  its  own  weight,  and  forc 
ing  this  raw  material  through  a  tiny  stem,  con 
structs  a  watermelon.  It  ornaments  the  outside  with 
a  covering  of  green;  inside  the  green  it  puts  a 
layer  of  white,  and  within  the  white  a  core  of  red, 
and  all  through  the  red  it  scatters  seeds,  each  one 
capable  of  continuing  the  work  of  reproduction. 
Who  drew  the  plan  by  which  that  little  seed  works  ? 
"Where  does  it  get  its  tremendous  strength?  Where 
does  it  find  its  coloring  matter  ?  How  does  it  collect 
its  flavoring  extract?  How  does  it  develop  a 
watermelon?  Until  you  can  explain  a  watermelon, 
do  not  be  too  sure  that  you  can  set  limits  to  the 
power  of  the  Almighty  and  say  just  what  He 
would  do  or  how  He  would  do  it. 

The  egg  is  the  most  universal  of  foods  and  its 
use  dates  from  the  beginning,  but  what  is  more 
mysterious  than  an  egg?  When  an  egg  is  fresh 
it  is  an  important  article  of  merchandise;  a  hen 


THE  PRINCE  OF  PEACE  273 

can  destroy  its  market  value  in  a  week's  time, 
but  in  two  weeks  more  she  can  bring  forth  from  it 
what  man  could  not  find  in  it.  We  eat  eggs,  but 
we  cannot  explain  an  egg. 

Water  has  been  used  from  the  birth  of  man ;  we 
learned  after  it  had  been  used  for  ages  that  it  is 
merely  a  mixture  of  gases,  but  it  is  far  more  im 
portant  that  we  have  water  to  drink  than  that  we 
know  that  it  is  not  water. 

Everything  that  grows  tells  a  like  story  of  in 
finite  power.  Why  should  I  deny  that  a  divine 
hand  fed  a  multitude  with  a  few  loaves  and  fishes 
when  I  see  hundreds  of  millions  fed  every  year  by 
a  hand  which  converts  the  seeds  scattered  over  the 
field  into  an  abundant  harvest?  We  know  that 
food  can  be  multiplied  in  a  few  months'  time; 
shall  we  deny  the  power  of  the  Creator  to  eliminate 
the  element  of  time,  when  we  have  gone  so  far  in 
eliminating  the  element  of  space  ?  Who  am  I  that 
I  should  attempt  to  measure  the  arm  of  the  Al 
mighty  with  my  puny  arm,  or  to  measure  the 
brain  of  the  Infinite  with  my  finite  mind?  Who 
am  I  that  I  should  attempt  to  put  metes  and  bounds 
to  the  power  of  the  Creator  ? 

But  there  is  something  even  more  wonderful 
still — the  mysterious  change  that  takes  place  in 
the  human  heart  when  the  man  begins  to  hate  the 
things  he  loved  and  to  love  the  things  he  hated — 
the  marvelous  transformation  that  takes  place  in 
the  man  who,  before  the  change,  would  have  sacri 
ficed  a  world  for  his  own  advancement  but  who, 
after  the  change,  would  give  his  life  for  a  princi 
ple  and  esteem  it  a  privilege  to  make  sacrifice  for 


274  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

liis  convictions!  What  greater  miracle  than  this, 
that  converts  a  selfish,  self -centered,  human  being 
into  a  center  from  which  good  influences  flow  out 
in  every  direction !  And  yet  this  miracle  has  been 
wrought  in  the  heart  of  each  one  of  us — or  may 
be  wrought — and  we  have  seen  it  wrought  in  the 
hearts  and  lives  of  those  about  us.  No,  living  a 
life  that  is  a  mystery,  and  living  in  the  midst  of 
mystery  and  miracles,  I  shall  not  allow  either  to 
deprive  me  of  the  benefits  of  the  Christian  religion. 
If  you  ask  me  if  I  understand  everything  in  the 
Bible,  I  answer,  no,  but  if  we  will  try  to  live  up 
tc  what  we  do  understand,  we  will  be  kept  so  busy 
doing  good  that  we  will  not  have  time  to  worry 
about  the  passages  which  we  do  not  understand. 
Some  of  those  who  question  the  miracle  also 
question  the  theory  of  atonement;  they  assert  that 
it  does  not  accord  with  their  idea  of  justice  for 
one  to  die  for  all.  Let  each  one  bear  his  own  sins 
and  the  punishments  due  for  them,  they  say.  The 
doctrine  of  vicarious  suffering  is  not  a  new  one; 
it  is  as  old  as  the  race.  That  one  should  suffer  for 
others  is  one  of  the  most  familiar  of  principles 
and  we  see  the  principle  illustrated  every  day  of 
our  lives.  Take  the  family,  for  instance;  from 
the  day  the  mother's  first  child  is  born,  for  twenty 
or  thirty  years  her  children  are  scarcely  out  of  her 
waking  thoughts.  Her  life  trembles  in  the  balance 
at  each  child's  birth;  she  sacrifices  for  them,  she 
surrenders  herself  to  them.  Is  it  because  she  ex 
pects  them  to  pay  her  back?  Fortunate  for  the 
parent  and  fortunate  for  the  child  if  the  latter 
has  an  opportunity  to  repay  in  part  the  debt  it 


THE  PRINCE  OF  PEACE  275 

owes.  But  no  child  can  compensate  a  parent  for 
a  parent's  care.  In  the  course  of  nature  the  debt 
is  paid,  not  to  the  parent,  but  to  the  next  genera 
tion,  and  the  next — each  generation  suffering,  sac 
rificing  for  and  surrendering  itself  to  the  genera 
tion  that  follows.  This  is  the  law  of  our  lives. 

Nor  is  this  confined  to  the  family.  Every  step 
in  civilization  has  been  made  possible  by  those  who 
have  been  willing  to  sacrifice  for  posterity.  Free 
dom  of  speech,  freedom  of  the  press,  freedom  of 
conscience  and  free  government  have  all  been  won 
for  the  world  by  those  who  were  willing  to  labor 
unselfishly  for  their  fellows.  So  well  established 
is  this  doctrine  that  we  do  not  regard  anyone  as 
great  unless  he  recognizes  how  unimportant  his 
life  is  in  comparison  with  the  problems  with  which 
he  deals. 

I  find  proof  that  man  was  made  in  the  image  of 
his  Creator  in  the  fact  that,  throughout  the  centur 
ies,  man  has  been  willing  to  die,  if  necessary,  that 
blessings  denied  to  him  might  be  enjoyed  by  his 
children,  his  children's  children  and  the  world. 

The  seeming  paradox:  "He  that  saveth  his  life 
shall  lose  it  and  he  that  loseth  his  life  for  my 
sake  shall  find  it,"  has  an  application  wider  than 
that  usually  given  to  it ;  it  is  an  epitome  of  history. 
Those  who  live  only  for  themselves  live  little  lives, 
but  those  who  stand  ready  to  give  themselves  for 
the  advancement  of  things  greater  than  themselves 
find  a  larger  life  than  the  one  they  would  have 
surrendered.  Wendell  Phillips  gave  expression  to 
the  same  idea  when  he  said,  "What  imprudent  men 
the  benefactors  of  the  race  have  been.  How  pru- 


276  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

dently  most  men  sink  into  nameless  graves,  while 
now  and  then  a  few  forget  themselves  into  immor 
tality."  We  win  immortality,  not  by  remembering 
ourselves,  but  by  forgetting  ourselves  in  devotion 
to  things  larger  than  ourselves. 

Instead  of  being  an  unnatural  plan,  the  plan  of 
salvation  is  in  perfect  harmony  with  human  nature 
as  we  understand  it.  Sacrifice  is  the  language  of 
love,  and  Christ,  in  suffering  for  the  world,  adopted 
the  only  means  of  reaching  the  heart,.  This  can  be 
demonstrated  not  only  by  theory  but  by  experience, 
for  the  story  of  His  life,  His  teachings,  His  suffer 
ings  and  His  death  has  been  translated  into  every 
language  and  everywhere  it  has  touched  the  heart. 

But  if  I  were  going  to  present  an  argument  in 
favor  of  the  divinity  of  Christ,  I  would  not  begin 
with  miracles  or  mystery  or  with  the  theory  of 
atonement.  I  would  begin  as  Carnegie  Simpson 
does  in  his  book  entitled,  "The  Fact  of  Christ." 
Commencing  with  the  undisputed  fact  that  Christ 
lived,  he  points  out  that  one  cannot  contemplate 
this  fact  without  feeling  that  in  some  way  it  is 
related  to  those  now  living.  He  says  that  one  can 
read  of  Alexander,  of  Caesar  or  of  Napoleon,  and 
not  feel  that  it  is  a  matter  of  personal  concern; 
but  that  when  one  reads  that  Christ  lived,  and  how 
He  lived  and  how  He  died,  he  feels  that  somehow 
there  is  a  cord  that  stretches  from  that  life  to  his. 
As  he  studies  the  character  of  Christ  he  becomes 
conscious  of  certain  virtues  which  stand  out  in 
bold  relief — His  purity,  His  forgiving  spirit,  and 
His  unfathomable  love.  The  author  is  correct 
Christ  presents  an  example  of  purity  in  thought 


THE  PRINCE  OF  PEACE  277 

and  life,  and  man,  conscious  of  his  own  imperfec 
tions  and  grieved  over  his  shortcomings,  finds  in 
spiration  in  the  fact  that  He  was  tempted  in  all 
points  like  as  we  are,  and  yet  without  sin.  I  am 
not  sure  but  that  each  can  find  just  here  a  way  of 
determining  for  himself  whether  he  possesses  the 
true  spirit  of  a  Christian.  If  the  sinlessness  of 
Christ  inspires  within  him  an  earnest  desire  to  con 
form  his  life  more  nearly  to  the  perfect  example, 
he  is  indeed  a  follower ;  if,  on  the  other  hand,  he  re 
sents  the  reproof  which  the  purity  of  Christ  offers, 
and  refuses  to  mend  his  ways,  he  has  yet  to  be  born 
again. 

The  most  difficult  of  all  the  virtues  to  cultivate 
is  the  forgiving  spirit.  Revenge  seems  to  be  nat 
ural  with  man ;  it  is  human  to  want  to  get  even 
with  an  enemy.  It  has  even  been  popular  to  boast 
of  vindictiveness ;  it  was  once  inscribed  on  a  man's 
monument  that  he  had  repaid  both  friends  and 
enemies  more  than  he  had  received.  This  was  not 
the  spirit  of  Christ.  He  taught  forgiveness  and 
in  that  incomparable  prayer  which  He  left  as  a 
model  for  our  petitions,  He  made  our  willingness 
to  forgive  the  measure  by  which  we  may  claim  for 
giveness.  He  not  only  taught  forgiveness  but  He 
exemplified  His  teachings  in  His  life.  When  those 
who  persecuted  Him  brought  Him  to  the  most  dis 
graceful  of  all  deaths,  His  spirit  of  forgiveness 
rose  above  His  sufferings  and  He  prayed,  "Father, 
forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do!" 

But  love  is  the  foundation  of  Christ's  creed. 
The  world  had  known  love  before;  parents  had 
loved  their  children,  and  children  their  parents; 


278  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

husbands  had  loved  their  wives,  and  wives  their 
husbands;  and  friend  had  loved  friend;  but  Jesus 
gave  a  new  definition  of  love.  His  love  was  as 
wide  as  the  sea;  its  limits  were  so  far-flung  that 
even  an  enemy  could  not  travel  beyond  its  bounds. 
Other  teachers  sought  to  regulate  the  lives  of  their 
followers  by  rule  and  formula,  but  Christ's  plan 
was  to  purify  the  heart  and  then  to  leave  love  to 
direct  the  footsteps. 

What  conclusion  is  to  be  drawn  from  the  life, 
the  teachings  and  the  death  of  this  historic  figure? 
Reared  in  a  carpenter  shop ;  with  no  knowledge  of 
literature,  save  Bible  literature;  with  no  acquaint 
ance  with  philosophers  living  or  with  the  writings 
of  sages  dead,  when  only  about  thirty  years  old 
He  gathered  disciples  about  Him,  promulgated  a 
higher  code  of  morals  than  the  world  had  ever 
known  before,  and  proclaimed  Himself  the  Messiah. 
He  taught  and  performed  miracles  for  a  few  brief 
months  and  then  was  crucified;  His  disciples  were 
scattered  and  many  of  them  put  to  death;  His 
claims  were  disputed,  His  resurrection  denied  and 
His  followers  persecuted ;  and  yet  from  this  begin 
ning  His  religion  spread  until  hundreds  of  mil 
lions  have  taken  His  name  with  reverence  upon 
their  lips  and  millions  have  been  willing  to  die 
rather  than  surrender  the  faith  which  He  put  into 
their  hearts.  How  shall  we  account  for  Him? 
Here  is  the  greatest  fact  of  history ;  here  is  One 
who  has  with  increasing  power,  for  nineteen  hun 
dred  years,  moulded  the  hearts,  the  thoughts  and 
the  lives  of  men,  and  He  exerts  more  influence 
to-day  than  ever  before.  "What  think  ye  of 


THE  PRINCE  OF  PEACE  279 

Christ?"  It  is  easier  to  believe  Him  divine  than 
to  explain  in  any  other  way  what  he  said  and 
did  and  was.  And  I  have  greater  faith,  even  than 
before,  since  I  have  visited  the  Orient  and  wit 
nessed  the  successful  contest  which  Christianity 
is  waging  against  the  religions  and  philosophies  of 
the  East. 

I  was  thinking  a  few  years  ago  of  the  Christmas 
which  was  then  approaching  and  of  Him  in  whose 
honor  the  day  is  celebrated.  I  recalled  the  mes 
sage,  " Peace  on  earth,  good  will  to  men,"  and 
then  my  thoughts  ran  back  to  the  prophecy  uttered 
centuries  before  His  birth,  in  which  He  was  de 
scribed  as  the  Prince  of  Peace.  To  reinforce  my 
memory  I  re-read  the  prophecy  and  I  found  im 
mediately  following  a  verse  which  I  had  forgotten 
— a  verse  which  declares  that  of  the  increase  of 
His  peace  and  government  there  shall  be  no  end, 
And,  Isaiah  adds,  that  He  shall  judge  His  people 
with  justice  and  with  judgment.  I  had  been  read 
ing  of  the  rise  and  fall  of  nations,  and  occasionally 
I  had  met  a  gloomy  philosopher  who  preached  the 
doctrine  that  nations,  like  individuals,  must  of 
necessity  have  their  birth,  their  infancy,  their  ma 
turity  and  finally  their  decay  and  death.  But  here 
I  read  of  a  government  that  is  to  be  perpetual — a 
government  of  increasing  peace  and  blessedness — 
the  government  of  the  Prince  of  Peace — and  it 
is  to  rest  on  justice.  I  have  thought  of  this 
prophecy  many  times  during  the  last  few  years, 
and  I  have  selected  this  theme  that  I  might  present 
some  of  the  reasons  which  lead  me  to  believe  that 
Christ  has  fully  earned  the  right  to  be  called  The 


280  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

Prince  of  Peace — a  title  that  will  in  the  years  to 
come  be  more  and  more  applied  to  Him.  If  he 
can  bring  peace  to  each  individual  heart,  and  if 
His  creed  when  applied  will  bring  peace  through 
out  the  earth,  who  will  deny  His  right  to  be  called 
the  Prince  of  Peace? 

All  the  world  is  in  search  of  peace ;  every  heart 
that  ever  beat  has  sought  for  peace,  and  many  have 
been  the  methods  employed  to  secure  it.  Some 
have  thought  to  purchase  it  with  riches  and  have 
labored  to  secure  wealth,  hoping  to  find  peace  when 
they  were  able  to  go  where  they  pleased  and  buy 
what  they  liked.  Of  those  who  have  endeavored 
to  purchase  peace  with  money,  the  large  majority 
have  failed  to  secure  the  money.  But  what  has 
been  the  experience  of  those  who  have  been  emi 
nently  successful  in  finance?  They  all  tell  the 
same  story,  viz.,  that  they  spent  the  first  half  of 
their  lives  trying  to  get  money  from  others  and 
the  last  half  trying  to  keep  others  from  getting 
their  money,  and  that  they  found  peace  in  neither 
half.  Some  have  even  reached  the  point  where 
they  find  difficulty  in  getting  people  to  accept  their 
money;  and  I  know  of  no  better  indication  of  the 
ethical  awakening  in  this  country  than  the  increas 
ing  tendency  to  scrutinize  the  methods  of  money- 
making.  I  am  sanguine  enough  to  believe  that  the 
time  will  yet  come  when  respectability  will  no 
longer  be  sold  to  great  criminals  by  helping  them  to 
spend  their  ill-gotten  gains.  A  long  step  in  ad 
vance  will  have  been  taken  when  religious,  educa 
tional  and  charitable  institutions  refuse  to  con 
done  conscienceless  methods  in  business  and  leave 


THE  PRINCE  OF  PEACE  281 

the  possessor  of  illegitimate  accumulations  to  learn 
how  lonely  life  is  when  one  prefers  money  to  morals. 

Some  have  sought  peace  in  social  distinction, 
but  whether  they  have  been  within  the  charmed 
circle  and  fearful  lest  they  might  fall  out,  or  out 
side,  and  hopeful  that  they  might  get  in,  they  have 
not  found  peace.  Some  have  thought,  vain 
thought,  to  find  peace  in  political  prominence ;  but 
whether  office  comes  by  birth,  as  in  monarchies,  or 
by  election,  as  in  republics,  it  does  not  bring  peace. 
An  office  is  not  considered  a  high  one  if  all  can 
occupy  it.  Only  when  few  in  a  generation  can 
hope  to  enjoy  an  honor  do  we  call  it  a  great  honor. 
I  am  glad  that  our  Heavenly  Father  did  not  make 
the  peace  of  the  human  heart  to  depend  upon  our 
ability  to  buy  it  with  money,  secure  it  in  society, 
or  win  it  at  the  polls,  for  in  either  case  but  few 
could  have  obtained  it,  but  when  He  made  peace 
the  reward  of  a  conscience  void  of  offense  toward 
God  and  man,  He  put  it  within  the  reach  of  all. 
The  poor  can  secure  it  as  easily  as  the  rich,  the 
social  outcasts  as  freely  as  the  leader  of  society, 
and  the  humblest  citizen  equally  with  those  who 
wield  political  power. 

To  those  who  have  grown  gray  in  the  Church,  I 
need  not  speak  of  the  peace  to  be  found  in  faith 
in  God  and  trust  in  an  overruling  Providence. 
Christ  taught  that  our  lives  are  precious  in  the 
sight  of  God,  and  poets  have  taken  up  the  thought 
and  woven  it  into  immortal  verse.  No  uninspired 
writer  has  exprest  it  more  beautifully  than  William 
Cullen  Bryant  in  his  Ode  to  a  Waterfowl.  After 
following  the  wanderings  of  the  bird  of  passage  as 

II  19 


282  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

it  seeks  first  its  southern  and  then  its  northern 
home,  he  concludes : 

Thou  art  gone ;  the  abyss  of  heaven 

Hath  swallowed  up  thy  form,  but  on  my  heart 
Deeply  hath  sunk  the  lesson  thou  hast  given, 

And  shall  not  soon  depart. 

He  who,  from  zone  to  zone, 

Guides  through  the  boundless  sky  thy  certain  flight, 
In  the  long  way  that  I  must  tread  alone, 

Will  lead  my  steps  aright. 

Christ  promoted  peace  by  giving  us  assurance 
that  a  line  of  communication  can  be  established 
between  the  Father  above  and  the  child  below. 
And  who  will  measure  the  consolations  of  the  hour 
of  prayer  ? 

And  immortality!  Who  will  estimate  the  peace 
which  a  belief  in  a  future  life  has  brought  to  the 
sorrowing  hearts  of  the  sons  of  men?  You  may 
talk  to  the  young  about  death  ending  all,  for  life  is 
full  and  hope  is  strong,  but  preach  not  this  doc 
trine  to  the  mother  who  stands  by  the  death-bed 
of  her  babe  or  to  one  who  is  within  the  shadow 
of  a  great  affliction.  When  I  was  a  young  man 
I  wrote  to  Colonel  Ingersoll  and  asked  him  for  his 
views  on  God  and  immortality.  His  secretary  an 
swered  that  the  great  infidel  was  not  at  home,  but 
enclosed  a  copy  of  a  speech  of  Col.  Ingersoll's 
which  covered  my  question.  I  scanned  it  with 
eagerness  and  found  that  he  had  exprest  himself 
about  as  follows:  "I  do  not  say  that  there  is  no 
God,  I  simply  say  I  do  not  know.  I  do  not  say 
that  there  is  no  life  beyond  the  grave,  I  simply 
say  I  do  not  know/'  And  from  that  day 


THE  PRINCE  OF  PEACE  283 

to  this  I  have  asked  myself  the  question  and 
have  been  unable  to  answer  it  to  my  own  satisfac 
tion,  how  could  anyone  find  pleasure  in  taking 
from  a  human  heart  a  living  faith  and  substituting 
therefor  the  cold  and  cheerless  doctrine,  "I  do  not 
know." 

Christ  gave  us  proof  of  immortality  and  it  was  a 
welcome  assurance,  altho  it  would  hardly  seem 
necessary  that  one  should  rise  from  the  dead  to 
convince  us  that  the  grave  is  not  the  end.  To  every 
created  thing  God  has  given  a  tongue  that  pro 
claims  a  future  life. 

If  the  Father  deigns  to  touch  with  divine  power 
the  cold  and  pulseless  heart  of  the  buried  acorn 
and  to  make  it  burst  forth  from  its  prison  walls, 
will  he  leave  neglected  in  the  earth  the  soul  of  man, 
made  in  the  image  of  his  Creator?  If  he  stoops 
to  give  to  the  rose  bush,  whose  withered  blossoms 
float  upon  the  autumn  breeze,  the  sweet  assurance 
of  another  springtime,  will  He  refuse  the  words 
of  hope  to  the  sons  of  men  when  the  frosts  of  win 
ter  come?  If  matter,  mute  and  inanimate,  tho 
changed  by  the  forces  of  nature  into  a  multitude 
of  forms,  can  never  die,  will  the  imperial  spirit 
of  man  suffer  annihilation  when  it  has  paid  a  brief 
visit  like  a  royal  guest  to  this  tenement  of  clay? 
No,  I  am  sure  that  He  who,  notwithstanding  his 
apparent  prodigality,  created  nothing  without  a 
purpose,  and  wasted  not  a  single  atom  in  all  his 
creation,  has  made  provision  for  a  future  life  in 
which  man 's  universal  longing  for  immortality  will 
find  its  realization.  I  am  as  sure  that  we  live 
again  as  I  am  sure  that  we  live  to-day. 


284  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

In  Cairo  I  secured  a  few  grains  of  wheat  that 
had  slumbered  for  more  than  thirty  centuries  in 
an  Egyptian  tomb.  As  I  looked  at  them  this 
thought  came  into  my  mind :  If  one  of  those  grains 
had  been  planted  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile  the  year 
after  it  grew,  and  all  its  lineal  descendants  had  been 
planted  and  replanted  from  that  time  until  now, 
its  progeny  would  to-day  be  sufficiently  numerous 
to  feed  the  teeming  millions  of  the  world.  An  un 
broken  chain  of  life  connects  the  earliest  grains 
of  wheat  with  the  grains  that  we  sow  and  reap. 
There  is  in  the  grain  of  wheat  an  invisible  some 
thing  which  has  power  to  discard  the  body  that 
we  see,  and  from  earth  and  air  fashion  a  new  body 
so  much  like  the  old  one  that  we  canno.t  tell  the 
one  from  the  other.  If  this  invisible  germ  of  life 
in  the  grain  of  wheat  can  thus  pass  unimpaired 
through  three  thousand  resurrections,  I  shall  not 
doubt  that  my  soul  has  power  to  clothe  itself  with 
a  body  suited  to  its  new  existence  when  this  earthly 
frame  has  crumbled  into  dust. 

A  belief  in  immortality  not  only  consoles  the  in 
dividual,  but  it  exerts  a  powerful  influence  in 
bringing  peace  between  individuals.  If  one  actually 
thinks  that  man  dies  as  the  brute  dies,  he  will  yield 
more  easily  to  the  temptation  to  do  injustice  to  his 
neighbor  when  the  circumstances  are  such  as  to 
promise  security  from  detection.  But  if  one  really 
expects  to  meet  again,  and  live  eternally  with, 
those  whom  he  knows  to-day,  he  is  restrained  from 
evil  deeds  by  the  fear  of  endless  remorse.  We  do 
not  know  what  rewards  are  in  store  for  us  or  what 
punishments  may  be  reserved,  but  if  there  were 


THE  PRINCE  OF  PEACE  285 

no  other  it  would  be  some  punishment  for  one  who 
deliberately  and  consciously  wrongs  another  to 
have  to  live  forever  in  the  company  of  the  person 
wronged  and  have  his  littleness  and  selfishness  laid 
bare.  I  repeat,  a  belief  in  immortality  must  exert 
a  powerful  influence  in  establishing  justice  between 
men  and  thus  laying  the  foundation  for  peace. 

Again,  Christ  deserves  to  be  called  The  Prince 
of  Peace  because  He  has  given  us  a  measure  of 
greatness  which  promotes  peace.  When  His  dis 
ciples  quarreled  among  themselves  as  to  which 
should  be  greatest  in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  He 
rebuked  them  and  said:  "Let  him  who  would  be 
chief est  among  you  be  the  servant  of  all."  Ser 
vice  is  the  measure  of  greatness ;  it  always  has  been 
true;  it  is  true  to-day,  and  it  always  will  be  true, 
that  he  is  greatest  who  does  the  most  of  good.  And 
how  this  old  world  will  be  transformed  when  this 
standard  of  greatness  becomes  the  standard  of 
every  life!  Nearly  all  of  our  controversies  and 
combats  grow  out  of  the  fact  that  we  are  trying 
to  get  something  from  each  other — there  will  be 
peace  when  our  aim  is  to  do  something  for  each 
other.  Our  enmities  and  animosities  arise  largely 
from  our  efforts  to  get  as  much  as  possible  out  of 
the  world — there  will  be  peace  when  our  endeavor 
is  to  put  as  much  as  possible  into  the  world.  The 
human  measure  of  a  human  life  is  its  income ;  the 
divine  measure  of  a  life  is  its  outgo,  its  overflow — 
its  contribution  to  the  welfare  of  all. 

Christ  also  led  the  way  to  peace  by  giving  us  a 
formula  for  the  propagation  of  truth.  Not  all  of 
those  who  have  really  desired  to  do  good  have  em- 


286  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

ployed  the  Christian  method — not  all  Christians 
even.  In  the  history  of  the  human  race  but  two 
methods  have  been  used.  The  first  is  the  forcible 
method,  and  it  has  been  employed  most  frequently. 
A  man  has  an  idea  which  he  thinks  is  good;  he 
tells  his  neighbors  about  it  and  they  do  not  like  it. 
This  makes  him  angry;  he  thinks  it  would  be  so 
much  better  for  them  if  they  would  like  it,  and, 
seizing  a  club,  he  attempts  to  make  them  like  it. 
But  one  trouble  about  this  rule  is  that  it  works 
both  ways;  when  a  man  starts  out  to  compel  his 
neighbors  to  think  as  he  does,  he  generally  finds 
them  willing  to  accept  the  challenge  and  they  spend 
so  much  time  in  trying  to  coerce  each  other  that 
they  have  no  time  left  to  do  each  other  good. 

The  other  is  the  Bible  plan — "Be  not  overcome 
of  evil  but  overcome  evil  with  good."  And  there 
is  no  other  way  of  overcoming  evil.  I  am  not  much 
of  a  farmer — I  get  more  credit  for  my  farming 
than  I  deserve,  and  my  little  farm  receives  more 
advertising  than  it  is  entitled  to.  But  I  am  farmer 
enough  to  know  that  if  I  cut  down  weeds  they  will 
spring  up  again ;  and  farmer  enough  to  know  that 
if  I  plant  something  there  which  has  more  vitality 
than  the  weeds  I  shall  not  only  get  rid  of  the  con 
stant  cutting,  but  have  the  benefit  of  the  crop 
besides. 

In  order  that  there  might  be  no  mistake  in  His 
plan  of  propagating  the  truth,  Christ  went  into  de 
tail  and  laid  emphasis  upon  the  value  of  example — • 
"So  live  that  others  seeing  your  good  works  may 
be  constrained  to  glorify  your  Father  which  is  in 
Heaven."  There  is  no  human  influence  so  potent 


THE  PRINCE  OF  PEACE  287 

for  good  as  that  which  goes  out  from  an  upright 
life.  A  sermon  may  be  answered;  the  arguments 
presented  in  a  speech  may  be  disputed,  but  no  one 
can  answer  a  Christian  life — it  is  the  unanswerable 
argument  in  favor  of  our  religion. 

It  may  be  a  slow  process — this  conversion  of  the 
world  by  the  silent  influence  of  a  noble  example 
but  it  is  the  only  sure  one,  and  the  doctrine  applies 
to  nations  as  well  as  to  individuals.  The  Gospel 
of  the  Prince  of  Peace  gives  us  the  only  hope  that 
the  world  has — and  it  is  an  increasing  hope — of  the 
substitution  of  reason  for  the  arbitrament  of  force 
in  the  settlement  of  international  disputes.  And 
our  nation  ought  not  to  wait  for  other  nations — it 
ought  to  take  the  lead  and  prove  its  faith  in  the 
omnipotence  of  truth. 

But  Christ  has  given  us  a  platform  so  funda 
mental  that  it  can  be  applied  successfully  to  all 
controversies.  We  are  interested  in  platforms;  we 
attend  conventions,  sometimes  traveling  long  dis 
tances;  we  have  wordy  wars  over  the  phraseology 
of  various  planks,  and  then  we  wage  earnest  cam 
paigns  to  secure  the  endorsement  of  these  plat 
forms  at  the  polls.  The  platform  given  to  the 
world  by  The  Prince  of  Peace  is  more  far-reaching 
and  more  comprehensive  than  any  platform  ever 
written  by  the  convention  of  any  party  in  any 
country.  When  He  condensed  into  one  command 
ment  those  of  the  ten  which  relate  to  man's  duty 
toward  his  fellows  and  enjoined  upon  us  the  rule, 
"Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,"  He  pre 
sented  a  plan  for  the  solution  of  all  the  problems 
that  now  vex  society  or  may  hereafter  arise.  Other 


288  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

remedies  may  palliate  or  postpone  the  day  of  set 
tlement,  but  this  is  all-sufficient  and  the  reconcili 
ation  which  it  effects  is  a  permanent  one. 

My  faith  in  the  future — and  I  have  faith — and 
my  optimism — for  I  am  an  optimist — my  faith  and 
my  optimism  rest  upon  the  belief  that  Christ's 
teachings  are  being  more  studied  to-day  than  ever 
before,  and  that  with  this  larger  study  will  come  a 
larger  application  of  those  teachings  to  the  every 
day  life  of  the  world,  and  to  the  questions  with 
which  we  deal.  In  former  times  when  men  read 
that  Christ  came  l '  to  bring  life  and  immortality  to 
light, ' '  they  placed  the  emphasis  upon  immortality ; 
now  they  are  studying  Christ's  relation  to  human 
life.  People  used  to  read  the  Bible  to  find  out 
what  it  said  of  Heaven ;  now  they  read  it  more  to 
find  what  light  it  throws  upon  the  pathway  of  to 
day.  In  former  years  many  thought  to  prepare 
themselves  for  future  bliss  by  a  life  .of  seclusion 
here;  we  are  learning  that  to  follow  in  the  foot 
steps  of  the  Master  we  must  go  about  doing  good. 
Christ  declared  that  He  came  that  we  might  have 
life  and  have  it  more  abundantly.  The  world  ii 
learning  that  Christ  came  not  to  narrow  life,  but 
to  enlarge  it — not  to  rob  it  of  its  joy,  but  to  fill  it 
to  overflowing  with  purpose,  earnestness  and  happi' 
ness. 

But  this  Prince  of  Peace  promises  not  only  peac3 
but  strength.  Some  have  thought  His  teachings  fit 
only  for  the  weak  and  the  timid  and  unsuited  to 
men  of  vigor,  energy  and  ambition.  Nothing  could 
be  farther  from  the  truth.  Only  the  man  of  faith 
can  be  courageous.  Confident  that  he  fights  on 


THE  PRINCE  OF  PEACE  289 

the  side  of  Jehovah,  he  doubts  not  the  success  of 
his  cause.  What  matters  it  whether  he  shares  in 
the  shouts  of  triumph?  If  every  word  spoken  in 
behalf  of  truth  has  its  influence  and  every  deed 
done  for  the  right  weighs  in  the  final  account,  it  is 
immaterial  to  the  Christian  whether  his  eyes  be 
hold  victory  or  whether  he  dies  in  the  midst  of  the 
conflict. 

"Yea,  tho  thou  lie  upon  the  dust. 

When  they  who  helped  thee  flee  in  fear, 
Die  full  of  hope  and  manly  trust, 

Like  those  who  fell  in  battle  here. 

Another  hand  thy  sword  shall  wield, 

Another  hand  the  standard  wave, 
Till  from  the  trumpet's  mouth  is  pealed, 

The  blast  of  triumph  o'er  thy  grave." 

Only  those  who  believe  attempt  the  seemingly  im 
possible,  and,  by  attempting,  prove  that  one,  with 
God,  can  chase  a  thousand  and  that  two  can  put  ten 
thousand  to  flight.  I  can  imagine  that  the  early 
Christians  who  were  carried  into  the  coliseum  to 
make  a  spectacle  for  those  more  savage  than  the 
beasts,  were  entreated  by  their  doubting  compan 
ions  not  to  endanger  their  lives.  But,  kneeling  in 
the  center  of  the  arena,  they  prayed  and  sang  until 
they  were  devoured.  How  helpless  they  seemed, 
and,  measured  by  every  human  rule,  how  hopeless 
was  their  cause !  And  yet  within  a  few  decades  the 
power  which  they  invoked  proved  mightier  than 
the  legions  of  the  emperor  and  the  faith  in  which 
they  died  was  triumphant  o'er  all  the  land.  It  is 
said  that  those  who  went  to  mock  at  their  suffer 
ings  returned  asking  themselves,  "What  is  it  that 
can  enter  into  the  heart  of  man  and  make  him  die 


290  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

as  these  die?"  They  were  greater  conquerors  in 
their  death  than  they  could  have  been  had  they 
purchased  life  by  a  surrender  of  their  faith. 

What  would  have  been  the  fate  of  the  church  if 
the  early  Christians  had  had  as  little  faith  as  many 
of  our  Christians  of  to-day  ?  And  if  the  Christians 
of  to-day  had  the  faith  of  the  martyrs,  how  long 
would  it  be  before  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy 
that  "every  knee  shall  bow  and  every  tongue  con 
fess?" 

v  I  am  glad  that  He,  who  is  called  the  Prince  of 
Peace — who  can  bring  peace  to  every  troubled  heart 
and  whose  teachings,  exemplified  in  life,  will  bring 
peace  between  man  and  man,  between  community 
and  community,  between  State  and  State,  between 
nation  and  nation  throughout  the  world — I  am 
glad  that  He  brings  courage  as  well  as  peace  so 
that  those  who  follow  Him  may  take  up  and  each 
day  bravely  do  the  duties  that  to  that  day  fall. 

As  the  Christian  grows  older  he  appreciates  more 
and  more  the  completeness  with  which  Christ  sat 
isfies  the  longings  of  the  heart,  and,  grateful  for 
the  peace  which  he  enjoys  and  for  the  strength 
which  he  has  received,  he  repeats  the  words  of  the 
great  scholar,  Sir  William  Jones : 

"Before  thy  mystic  altar,  heavenly  truth, 

I  kneel  in  manhood,  as  I  knelt  in  youth, 
Thus  let  me  kneel,  till  this  dull  form  decay, 

And  life's  last  shade  be  brightened  by  thy  ray." 

(NOTE:  This  address  is  not  copyrighted  and  can  be  re- 
published  by  anyone  desiring  to  do  so.) 


Ill 

MAN 

Delivered  at  the  commencement  exercises  of  the  Nebraska 
State  University,  on  June  15th,  1005,  and  also  at  the  com 
mencement  exercises  of  Illinois  College. 

THE  Psalmist  asks  of  Jehovah,  "What  is 
man,  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him,  and 
the  son  of  man,  that  thou  visitest  him?" 
And  answering  his  own  question  he  adds:  "For 
thou  hast  made  him  a  little  lower  than  the  angels, 
and  hast  crowned  him  with  glory  and  honor." 

Man,  in  the  sense  in  which  the  term  describes 
the  human  being  to  whom  the  Creator  has  given 
dominion  over  earth,  and  air  and  sea,  and  upon 
whom  He  has  imposed  responsibilities  commen 
surate  with  capabilities  and  possibilities — man,  as 
thus  defined,  is  an  appropriate  theme  for  an  occa 
sion  like  this,  and  its  consideration  is  worthy  not 
only  of  those  who,  having  completed  the  course  of 
study  prescribed  by  this  institution,  go  forth  to 
meet  life's  problems,  but  worthy  also  of  the  thought 
of  those  of  us  who  are  older. 

Miracle  of  miracles  is  man !  Most  helpless  of  all 
God's  creatures  in  infancy;  most  powerful  when 
fully  developed,  and  interesting  always.  What  un- 
fathomed  possibilities  are  wrapt  within  the  swad 
dling  clothes  that  enfold  an  infant!  Who  can 
measure  a  child's  influence  for  weal  or  woe?  Be- 
(291) 


292  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

fore  it  can  lisp  a  word,  it  has  brought  to  one 
woman  the  sweet  consciousness  of  motherhood,  and 
it  has  given  to  one  man  the  added  strength  that 
comes  with  a  sense  of  responsibility.  Before  its 
tiny  hands  can  lift  a  feather's  weight,  they  have 
drawn  two  hearts  closer  together  and  its  innocent 
prattle  echoes  through  two  lives.  Every  day  that 
child  in  its  growth  touches  and  changes  some  one; 
not  a  year  in  all  its  history  but  that  it  leaves  an 
impress  upon  the  race.  What  incalculable  space 
between  a  statue,  however  flawless  the  marble,  how 
ever  faultless  the  workmanship,  and  a  human  being 
' '  aflame  with  the  passion  of  eternity. ' ' 

If  the  statue  can  not,  like  a  human  being,  bring 
the  gray  hairs  of  a  parent  "in  sorrow  to  the 
grave, "  or  devastate  a  nation,  or  with  murderous 
hand  extinguish  the  vital  spark  in  a  fellow  being, 
neither  can  it,  like  a  human  being,  minister  to  suf 
fering  mankind,  nor  scatter  gladness  "o'er  a  smil 
ing  land,"  nor  yet  claim  the  blessings  promised  in 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Only  to  man,  made  in 
the  Divine  likeness,  is  given  the  awful  power  to 
choose  between  measureless  success  and  immeasur 
able  woe. 

Man  shares  with  the  animal  a  physical  nature — 
he  has  a  body,  the  citadel  of  the  mind,  the  tem 
porary  tenement  of  the  soul.  It  is  necessary  that 
this  link  in  the  endless  chain  that  connects  the  gen 
erations  past  with  the  generations  yet  to  come  shall 
be  made  as  strong  as  conditions,  heredity  and  envi 
ronment,  will  permit.  Infinitely  varied  are  the 
physical  capabilities  bequeathed  to  us  by  our  an 
cestors.  Some  of  us  are  heirs  to  virtuous  estates 


MAN  293 

with  which  no  courts  can  interfere;  some  of  us 
bear  in  our  bodies  the  evidence  of  ancestral  sins 
and  are  living  proof  of  the  fact  that  the  iniquities 
of  the  parents  are  visited  upon  the  children.  All 
of  us  inherit  both  weaknesses  and  elements  of 
strength.  It  is  within  our  power  to  conserve  and 
to  increase  the  strength  that  has  come  down  to  us, 
and  it  is  also  within  our  power  to  dissipate  the 
physical  fortune  which  we  have  received.  Nothing 
but  a  proper  conception  of  the  creature's  steward 
ship  under  the  Creator  can  protect  the  individual 
from  the  rust  of  inaction,  the  wear  of  excess  and 
the  waste  that  arises  from  a  perverted  use  of  the 
powers  of  the  body. 

If  civilization  can  be  defined — and  I  know  of  no 
better  definition — as  the  harmonious  development 
of  the  human  race,  physically,  mentally  and  mor 
ally,  then  each  individual,  whether  his  influence  is 
perceptible  or  not,  raises  the  level  of  the  civiliza 
tion  of  his  age  just  in  proportion  as  he  contributes 
to  the  world's  work  a  body,  a  mind  and  a  heart 
capable  of  maximum  effort.  No  one  lives  unto  him 
self  or  dies  unto  himself.  The  tie  that  binds  each 
human  being  to  every  other  human  being  is  one 
that  cannot  be  severed.  We  cannot  without  blame 
invite  a  physical  weakness  that  can  be  avoided  or 
continue  one  which  can  be  remedied.  The  burdens 
to  be  borne  are  great  enough  to  tax  the  resources 
of  all  when  service  is  rendered  under  the  most 
favorable  conditions;  no  one  has  a  right  to  offer 
less  than  the  best  within  his  power. 

Every  kind  of  sport,  every  form  of  exercise  that 
contributes  to  the  development  of  the  body,  without 


294  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

mental  deterioration  or  an  impairment  of  the  moral 
forces,  can  be  encouraged.  Not  only  does  the  body 
demand  attention  in  the  growing  years,  but  it  re 
quires  continuous  care  throughout  the  entire  life. 
A  stunted  body  is  the  penalty  for  overwork  in  the 
child,  a  weak  body  the  penalty  of  lack  of  exercise, 
but  nature's  punishments  are  not  visited  upon 
youth  alone.  The  overworked  or  underfed  man  or 
woman  cannot  escape  nature's  penalty,  neither  can 
those  escape  who,  fancying  themselves  more  fortu 
nate,  invite  the  evils  of  idleness  and  overfeeding. 
An  eminent  Swiss,  Carl  Hilty,  in  his  book  on  1 1  Hap 
piness,"  declares  that  regular  employment  at  some 
work  which  satisfies  the  conscience  and  the  judg 
ment  is  essential  to  any  true  enjoyment  of  life, 
and  Tolstoy  quotes  with  approval  the  opinion  of 
the  Russian  writer,  Bonderef,  who  insists  that  sys 
tematic  manual  labor  is  a  religious  duty  as  well 
as  a  physical  requirement.  If  any  one  supposes 
that  education  should  relieve  him  from  a  personal 
knowledge  of  bread-labor — "the  primary  struggle 
with  nature" — he  is  in  grievous  error.  At  present 
the  strength  of  the  race  is  materially  lessened  by 
\  the  decay  consequent  upon  the  idleness  of  those 
who  have  come  to  regard  physical  toil  as  a  disgrace 
(unless  endured  for  amusement),  and  the  average 
length  of  life  is  shortened  by  those  who  convert 
the  normal  function  of  eating  into  gluttony.  Those 
who  approach  life  in  the  right  spirit  and  seek  the 
highest  development  must  in  the  very  beginning 
understand  the  importance  of  so  mastering  the 
body  and  its  forces  as  to  make  them  potent  for 
good.  In  the  care  of  the  body  three  things  are 


MAN  295 

necessary:  First,  food  sufficient  in  quantity  and 
proper  in  quality  to  insure  growth  until  maturity 
and  health  afterwards.  At  present  we  have  at  one 
extreme  those  who  suffer  from  lack  of  nourishing 
food  and  at  the  opposite  extreme  those  who  ruin 
their  health  with  high  living.  Second,  the  body 
needs  exercise  sufficient  in  quantity  and  kind  to 
keep  it  in  good  working  order.  At  present  a  large 
number,  young  and  old,  work  too  long,  while,  on 
the  other  hand,  many  do  not  work  at  all.  Third, 
the  body  needs  rest  sufficient  for  recuperation. 
Today  a  portion  of  the  population  have  too  little 
opportunity  for  rest,  while  others  rest  until  they 
become  weary  of  resting. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  no  habit,  how 
ever  pleasant  it  may  be,  can  with  wisdom  be  ac 
quired  or  with  safety  continued  which  increases 
the  probability  of  sickness,  tends  to  weaken  the 
body  in  the  struggles  with  diseases,  or  in  any  other 
way  impairs  the  vital  forces.  The  total  drain  upon 
the  nation's  strength  resulting  from  the  use  of 
liquor  and  tobacco  can  scarcely  be  estimated,  not 
to  speak  of  other  forms  of  dissipation. 

But  man  must  be  more  than  a  perfect  animal ;  he 
does  not  rise  above  the  level  of  the  beast  if  he  per 
mits  his  thoughts  to  rest  entirely  upon  blood,  and 
bone  and  muscle.  The  prolongation  of  life  would 
scarcely  be  worth  the  effort,  or  the  warding  off  of 
disease  reward  the  care,  if  there  were  not  more  in 
human  life  than  food,  toil  and  rest. 

The  presence  of  these  graduates,  attended  by 
parents,  relatives  and  friends,  is  evidence  that  there 
is  in  this  community  a  recognition  of  the  import- 


296  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

ance  of  the  training  of  the  mind.  The  scholastic 
course  prescribed  by  our  educators  and  paid  for 
out  of  the  productive  labor  of  the  state  represents 
a  considerable  pecuniary  outlay.  No  compulsory 
legal  requirements  are  necessary  to  convince  a  large 
majority  of  the  parents  of  the  short-sightedness  of 
denying  to  a  child  the  mental  training  given  by 
our  schools.  From  the  first  day  in  the  kindergarten 
to  the  last  day  in  the  university  the  student  follows 
a  path  marked  out  by  discriminating  wisdom  and 
guarded  by  sympathetic  interest.  Those  who  are 
foolish  enough  to  exchange  the  permanent  advan 
tage  of  an  education  for  the  temporary  gain  of  re 
munerative  employment  have,  as  a  rule,  a  pro 
tracted  season  of  repentance.  As  the  workman 
gains  rather  than  loses  by  the  time  employed  in 
sharpening  his  tools,  so  the  student  accumulates 
more  capital  by  careful  preparation  than  he  can 
by  too  early  an  entrance  upon  money  making. 
There  is  in  some  quarters  a  disposition  to  regard 
what  is  contemptuously  called  "book-learning"  as 
of  little  value  except  in  the  professions.  No  error 
can  be  more  harmful,  and  it  arises  from  a  miscon 
ception  of  the  purpose  of  education.  Books  are 
not  to  be  despised;  they  contain  the  best  thought 
of  the  authors  and  these  best  thoughts  are  again 
sifted  by  time.  While  one  should  know  people  as 
well  as  the  written  page,  still  books  are  faithful 
friends. 

Even  if  the  student's  thoughts  were  centered 
upon  himself  there  could  be  no  excuse  for  inade 
quate  preparation  or  for  the  attempt  sometimes 
made  to  substitute  technical  training  for  general 


MAN  297 

instruction.  But  when  it  is  remembered  that  in 
struction  is  not  purely  for  the  benefit  of  the  indi 
vidual,  but  for  the  public  as  well,  the  importance 
of  a  liberal  education  becomes  still  more  apparent. 
The  person  who  understands  the  fundamental  prin 
ciples  of  science  can  render  a  larger  service  than 
one  who  is  ignorant  of  the  lines  along  which  nature 
acts;  mathematics  teach  exactness  in  thought  and 
argument ;  literature  and  language  give  readiness, 
expression  and  illustration,  while  history  equips  us 
with  that  knowledge  of  the  past  which  is  essential 
to  a  proper  estimate  of  the  future.  And  how  shall 
we  excuse  the  blindness  of  those — if  there  be  such 
—who,  believing  in  popular  institutions,  would 
deny  to  the  masses  a  knowledge  of  political  econ 
omy,  sociology  and  the  science  of  government — a 
knowledge  so  useful  in  the  discharge  of  the  high 
duties  of  citizenship?  "Whether  a  boy  intends  to 
dig  ditches,  follow  the  plow,  lay  brick  upon  brick, 
join  timber  to  timber,  devote  himself  to  merchan 
dising,  enter  a  profession,  engage  in  teaching,  ex 
pound  the  Scriptures,  or  in  some  other  honorable 
way  make  his  contribution  to  society,  I  am  anxious 
that  he  shall  have  all  the  education  that  our  schools 
can  furnish.  He  will  do  better  work  because  of 
his  education ;  he  will  have  his  mind  for  his  com 
panion  and  will  not  be  tempted  to  loaf  upon  the 
streets  when  the  day's  work  is  done,  and  he  will  be 
in  a  position  to  demand  reasonable  conditions, 
reasonable  terms  and  reasonable  compensation  for 
those  who  toil. 

Where  an  education  has  seemed  to  be  a  detri 
ment  in  business  or  has  yielded  a  less  dividend 

II  20 


298  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

than  mignt  properly  be  expected,  it  can  be  traced  to 
a  deficit  in  purpose  rather  than  to  a  surplus  of 
learning. 

And  this  leads  us  to  the  consideration  of  the  ne 
cessity  for  a  moral  development  to  accompany 
mental  training.  An  athlete  bent  on  mischief  can 

i-  do  more  harm  than  a  dwarf  or  an  invalid ;  and  so, 
a  well-disciplined  mind,  misdirected,  is  capable  of 
doing  more  serious  damage  than  an  ignorant  mind. 
Society  is  poorly  repaid  for  the  money  spent  upon 
education  if  the  one  who  profits  by  the  expenditure 
feels  ashamed  to  cooperate  with  those  whose  toil 
supplies  him  with  food  and  clothing.  That  labor  is 
dignified,  that  work  is  honorable,  is  a  truth  that 

i  needs  to  be  imprest  upon  every  young  man  and 
upon  every  young  woman.  It  is  worthier  by  far  to 
add  something  to  the  world's  store  of  wealth  than 
to  spend  the  money  that  others  have  earned.  We 
must  have  food,  and  clothing  and  shelter,  and  we 
must  earn  these  things  or  some  one  must  give 
them  to  us.  A  young  man's  self-respect  ought  to 
make  him  ashamed  to  sponge  upon  the  world  for  a 
living;  he  ought  to  insist  upon  repajdng  with  in 
terest  the  service  which  society  renders  him;  and 
this  rule  applies  to  young  women  as  well  as  to  the 
young  men,  for  the  forms  of  service  are  infinite 
and  the  return  that  women  make  to  society  is  as 
valuable  as  the  return  made  by  men.  The  essential 
thing  is  that  each  person,  man  or  woman,  shall 
recognize  the  obligation  to  contribute  in  helpful 
ness. 

There  is  no  place  for  the  drone  in  human  society, 
and  as  public  opinion  becomes  more  enlightened  we 


MAN  299 

shall  give  less  regard  to  those,  however  refined  or 
well  educated,  who  consult  their  own  pleasure  at 
the  expense  of  others  and  more  consideration  to 
the  bread-winners  whose  hands  are  calloused  and 
whose  brows  are  acquainted  with  perspiration. 

There  is  evident  on  every  side  a  distortion  of 
view  as  to  the  relative  desirability  of  a  life  of  pro 
ductive  labor  as  compared  with  a  life  of  luxurious 
ease,  and  a  widening  gulf  seems  to  divide  the  two. 
This  should  not  be  true.  The  bud,  blooming  in 
beauty  and  fragrance,  might  as  justly  scorn  the 
roots  of  the  rosebud  because  they  come  into  contact 
with  the  soil,  as  that  any  man,  however  trained  in 
mind  or  supplied  with  means,  should  hold  in  con 
tempt  those  who  with  brain  and  muscle  coax  the 
annual  crop  from  mother  earth,  fashion  the  fabric 
which  protects  him  from  heat  and  cold,  or  bring 
fuel  from  the  coal  mines. 

An  education  is  incomplete  which  does  not  place 
a  noble  purpose  behind  mental  training  and  make 
the  hands  willing  to  work.  The  work  should  ulti 
mately  be  the  largest  work  of  which  the  hands  are 
capable,  but  at  all  times  it  should  be  the  work  that 
most  needs  to  be  done.  That  education  is  also  de 
fective  which  so  inflames  one's  vanity  or  so  shrivels  { 
one's  heart  as  to  separate  him  in  sympathy  from  his 
fellows.  Education  has  been  known  to  do  this — 
yes,  education  has  even  been  known  to  make  a  grad 
uate  ashamed  of  his  parents,  f  A  Chicago  paper 
recently  reported  such  a  case.  A  mother  who  had 
been  denied  the  advantages  of  the  schools,  but  who  ; 
had  by  economy  and  sacrifice  enabled  her  son  to 
attend  college,  visited  him  after  he  had  established 


300  BBYAN'S  SPEECHES 

himself  in  the  practise  of  the  law.  She  had  looked 
forward  for  years  to  his  success,  and  started  upon 
her  visit  with  great  expectation.  She  soon  learned, 
however,  that  her  presence  embarrassed  her  son — • 
that  he  did  not  want  his  clients  to  know  that  she 
was  his  mother.  Her  heart  was  broken,  and  as  she 
waited  at  the  depot  alone  for  the  train  that  would 
bear  her  back  to  her  humble  home,  she  poured  forth 
her  sorrow  in  a  letter.  If  I  thought  that  any  of 
those  who  receive  their  diplomas  on  this  glad  day 
would  allow  their  superior  advantages  to  lessen 
their  affection  for  their  parents  or  to  decrease  their 
devotion  to  them,  I  would  wish  them  children  again. 
Better  loving  companionship  than  intellectual  soli 
tude,  but  there  is  no  reason  why  the  scholar  should 
be  less  a  son  or  daughter.  Head  and  heart  should 
be  developed  together,  and  then  each  forward  step 
will  bring  increasing  joy,  strengthen  family  ties 
and  make  early  friendship  more  sacred. 

If  he  is  culpable  who  shrinks  from  full  partici 
pation  in  the  work  of  this  struggling  world,  or 
shirks  the  responsibilities  which  he  is  by  education 
prepared  to  assume,  still  more  culpable  are  those 
who,  by  employing  their  talents  against  society, 
prey  upon  those  who  supplied  their  training.  If 
by  force  of  fraud  or  cunning  one  seeks  to  appro 
priate  to  his  own  use  that  which  he  has  not  earned, 
he  turns  against  the  public  the  weapons  put  into 
his  hand  by  the  public  for  the  promotion  of  the 
common  weal. 

The  old-fashioned  methods  of  wrong-doing  are 
everywhere  condemned,  but  Professor  Ross  of  the 
Nebraska  University  has  pointed  out  some  of  the 


MAN  301 

new  methods  of  wrong-doing  which  do  not  bear 
the  odium  which  they  deserve.  He  calls  attention 
not  only  to  the  dishonesty  involved  in  the  adultera 
tion  of  food,  but  to  the  actual  bodily  harm  done 
by  the  mercantile  use  of  the  poisons.  There  has 
been  an  enormous  increase  in  the  quantity  of  adul 
terants  used  and  a  woeful  lack  of  conscience  mani 
fested  among  those  who  find  a  profit  in  the  prac 
tise  of  dangerous  impositions.  Professor  Ross  also 
presents  some  statistics  to  show  the  mortality  due 
to  the  failure  to  use  safety  appliances — the  lives 
of  employes  being  coined  into  larger  dividends  for 
the  benefit  of  the  stockholders.  But  not  all  of 
those  who  make  misuse  of  their  intelligence  are  en 
gaged  in  either  the  adulteration  of  food  or  in  doing 
bodily  harm  through  unprotected  machinery.  The 
pecuniary  damage  done  by  the  market  speculator 
is  even  greater.  The  gross  sum  every  year  ab 
stracted  from  the  pockets  of  the  wealth  producers 
by  the  misuse  of  the  stock  exchange  and  the  cham 
ber  of  commerce  is  enormous,  for  this  sum  not  only 
includes  that  which  is  lost  by  those  who  yield  to 
the  temptation  to  sit  in  the  game  of  speculation 
with  the  manipulators  of  the  market,  but  it  in 
cludes  that  still  larger  sum  which  measures  the  in 
jury  done  legitimate  dealers  who  are  the  innocent 
victims  of  man-made  fluctuations. 

I  know  of  no  more  imperative  need  today  than 
that  there  should  be  a  clear  recognition  of  the  law 
of  rewards,  namely,  that  each  person  is  entitled  to 
draw  from  society  in  proportion  as  he  contributes 
to  the  welfare  of  society.  This  law  is  fundamental. 
It  conforms  to  that  sense  of  justice  wrhich  forms  the 


302  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

broad  basis  of  social  intercourse  and  a  firm  founda 
tion  for  government.  This  sense  of  justice  is  of 
fended  when  any  one,  either  through  the  favoritism 
of  government  or  in  defiance  of  government,  ac 
quires  that  for  which  he  has  not  given  an  equiva 
lent.  There  are  certain  apparent  exceptions,  but 
they  will  upon  examination  be  found  to  be  only 
apparent  or  to  present  evidence  of  an  attempted 
approximation  to  the  standard.  For  instance,  by 
general  consent  there  is  acquirement  by  right  of 
discovery.  A  man  finds  something  of  which  man 
has  not  before  known,  and  altho  the  discovery  may 
not  have  caused  him  great  effort,  yet  it  may  be  of 
great  value.  There  is  justice  in  giving  him  a  reas 
onable  compensation  out  of  the  thing  which  he  has 
discovered,  but  the  fact  that  the  government  under 
whose  jurisdiction  the  land  lies  limits  by  metes  and 
bounds  the  land  which  the  pioneer  may  claim  is 
evidence  of  an  effort  to  fix  a  relation  between  ser 
vice  and  compensation.  And  so  if  one  discovers 
precious  metals  the  law  determines  the  amount  of 
land  that  can  be  claimed  under  the  discovery.  The 
inventor,  also,  in  return  for  the  benefits  conferred 
upon  society,  is  given  a  temporary  monopoly  of  the 
sale  of  the  thing  invented,  but  the  fact  that  he  is 
protected  for  a  limited  time  only  is  another  proof 
of  the  general  desire  that  the  reward  collected  from 
society  shall  be  proportioned  to  the  benefit  con 
ferred  upon  society.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add 
that  in  the  case  of  an  invention  the  attempt  is  often 
a  crude  one,  the  inventor  in  many  cases  losing  in 
large  part  or  entirely  the  protection  intended  for 
him,  while  some  one  prepared  to  furnish  money  for 


MAN  303 

experimentation  receives  the  lion's  share  of  the 
benefits. 

The  inheritance  would  seem  to  furnish  the  most 
notable  exception  to  the  rule  of  rewards,  and  yet  it 
cannot  really  be  considered  an  exception,  for  a 
man's  right  to  provide  for  those  dependent  upon 
him  is  as  sacred  as  his  right  to  provide  for  himself, 
and  the  mutual  obligations  between  parent  and 
child  take  inheritances  out  of  the  ordinary  rules 
of  property,  and  yet  even  in  this  case  the  graded 
taxes  now  imposed  upon  inheritances  in  various 
States — and  they  should  be  imposed  in  all  States — 
indicate  a  tendency  to  limit  the  testamentary  dispo 
sition  of  property.  Gifts  are  either,  first,  an  ex 
pression  of  affection  or  friendship,  or,  second,  pay 
ment  for  service  rendered  or  payment  in  advance 
for  service  to  be  rendered  to  the  donor  or  to  others. 

But  turning  from  the  exception  to  the  rule,  what 
could  be  more  salutary  today  than  a  universal 
recognition  of  this  law  of  rewards?  If  instead  of 
measuring  success  by  the  amount  received  each  one 
measured  success  by  the  amount  actually  earned, 
what  a  transformation  would  be  wrought  in  the 
world!  If  each  one  were  so  perfectly  under  self- 
control  and  so  attached  to  a  high  ideal  as  not  to 
desire  more  from  the  world  than  a  just  reward  for 
his  contribution  to  the  world's  welfare,  society 
would  present  a  changed  appearance.  Nearly  all 
injustice,  nearly  all  of  " man's  inhumanity  to 
man,"  can  be  traced  to  an  attempt  on  the  part  of 
the  wrong-doer  to  obtain  something  for  nothing  or 
something  for  which  only  part  payment  is  offered. 
A  conscientious  application  of  this  law  of  rewards 


304  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

would  not  only  go  far  toward  adjusting  disputes 
between  labor  and  capital,  but  it  would  go  far 
toward  removing  the  barriers  between  the  classes. 
The  employe  to  make  a  just  complaint  against  his 
employer  shows  that  the  latter  is  claiming  a  larger 
share  of  the  joint  profit  than  is  his  due,  and  the 
employer  to  bring  a  just  indictment  against  his 
employe  alleges  that  the  employe  is  seeking  a  larger 
compensation  than  he  has  earned.  There  would  be 
little  difficulty  in  adjusting  hours  of  labor  and  the 
conditions  of  labor  if  the  primary  question  of  par 
ticipation  in  profits  could  be  adjusted,  and  that 
adjustment  cannot  be  equitably  made  upon  any 
other  basis  than  that  of  equivalent  values.  With 
universal  acquiescence  in  this  rule  the  usurer  would 
disappear,  carrying  his  train  of  evils  with  him; 
with  the  establishment  of  this  rule  the  stock  job 
ber  and  the  market  gambler  would  cease  to  disturb 
the  law  of  supply  and  demand,  and  the  reign  of 
watered  stock  and  of  exploitation  would  be  at  an 
end.  The  observance  of  this  rule  would  make  fac 
tory  laws  unnecessary  and  relieve  from  premature 
toil  hundreds  of  thousands  of  children  who  now, 
to  the  shame  of  our  civilization  and  to  the  perma 
nent  harm  of  our  country,  become  sullen  supporters 
of  the  family  when  they  should  enjoy  the  delights 
of  childhood  and  the  advantages  of  school.  Those 
who,  instead  of  trying  to  see  how  much  they  can 
squeeze  out  of  the  world,  are  anxious  to  give  to  the 
world  a  dollar's  worth  of  service  for  a  dollar's 
worth  of  pay,  are  protected  against  every  form  of 
swindling,  for  the  "get-rich-quick"  schemes  which 
spring  up  and  impose  upon  the  public  until  they 


MAN  305 

are  exposed  and  driven  out,  always  appeal  to  the 
speculative  spirit,  and  lead  their  victims  to  expect 
something  for  nothing. 

It  must  not  be  understood,  however,  that  the  law 
of  rewards  comprehends  all  of  one's  obligations. 
There  is  a  clear  distinction  between  justice  and 
benevolence.  Justice  requires  that  each  person 
shall  be  secure  in  the  enjoyment  of  that  which  he 
earns,  but  there  is  something  better  than  justice. 
True,  the  elimination  of  injustice  is  greatly  to  be 
desired,  but  if  the  world  contained  nothing  more 
comforting  than  justice,  there  might  still  be  a  vast 
amount  of  suffering  and  woe.  After  the  govern 
ment  has  exhausted  human  wisdom  in  the  effort  to 
so  adjust  rewards  as  to  secure  to  each  person  a  fair 
and  just  compensation  for  all  that  he  does,  religion 
steps  in  and  suggests  a  still  higher  and  broader 
rule.  Justice  would  leave  the  individual  to  suffer 
for  his  own  errors  and  to  pay  the  penalty  for  his 
own  mistakes,  but  love,  as  taught  in  the  Bible  and 
exemplified  by  the  Author  of  our  religion,  teaches 
us  "to  feel  another's  woe"  and  to  bear  one  an 
other's  burdens.  If  sickness  overtakes  a  neighbor 
it  does  not  satisfy  the  conscience  to  say:  "lie 
brought  it  upon  himself,  let  him  suffer."  If  a 
wife  is  impoverished  by  the  dissipations  of  a  hus 
band  it  does  not  satisfy  the  conscience  to  say:  "She 
ought  to  have  known  better  than  to  marry  him," 
or  "She  ought  to  leave  him."  If  a  child  is  left 
friendless  it  does  not  satisfy  the  conscience  to  say: 
"It  is  not  my  child;  I  owe  it  nothing."  In  a  mul 
titude  of  ways  we  are  daily  brought  face  to  face 
with  the  fact  that  this  world  needs  something  more 


306  BEY  AN 'S  SPEECHES 

helpful,  more  encouraging,  more  uplifting  than 
justice,  and  love  supplies  this  need.  A  high  ideal 
of  life,  therefore,  leads  us  to  be  more  exacting  with 
ourselves  than  we  are  with  others.  We  must  use 
a  larger  measure  when  we  estimate  society 's  claims 
upon  us  than  when  we  calculate  our  claims  upon 
society,  for  while  we  have  a  right  to  expect  from 
society  a  fair  compensation  for  what  we  do,  we  are 
in  duty  bound  to  make  to  society  a  contribution 
which  no  legal  definition  can  measure. 

Those  who  attempt  to  construct  the  world  with 
out  reference  to  the  spiritual  forces  which  are  at 
work  defend  altruism  on  the  ground  that  it  is  an 
enlightened  self-interest;  they  contend  that  the 
doing  of  good  to  others,  even  sacrificing  for  others, 
yields  a  reward  in  pleasure.  The  difficulty  about 
the  philosophy  that  rests  upon  such  calculations  is, 
first,  that  it  is  impossible  for  one  to  look  far  enough 
ahead  to  form  any  accurate  opinion  as  to  the  time 
or  manner  in  which  the  reward  is  to  come,  and  sec 
ond,  that  time  spent  in  calculation  can  better  be 
spent  in  acting.  The  person  who  attempts  to  keep 
a  book  account  of  the  good  he  does,  does  not,  as 
a  rule,  do  enough  good  to  justify  an  entry  in  the 
book ;  the  spirit  that  leads  him  to  keep  the  account 
continually  hampers  him  in  his  work.  Life  is 
made  up  of  an  innumerable  number  of  small  acts, 
not  considered  worth  doing  by  those  who  are  guided 
by  selfish  considerations.  Of  the  countless  millions 
of  kind  and  generous  acts  done,  but  few  would 
have  been  done  had  it  been  necessary  to  reason 
out  just  in  what  way  the  bread  "cast  upon  the 
waters"  would  return. 


MAN  307 

The  spring  is  the  best  illustration  of  a  life  con 
forming  to  the  Christian  ideal.  As  the  spring 
pours  forth  constantly  of  that  which  refreshes  and 
invigorates,  seeking  nothing  in  return,  and  asking 
not  who  is  to  be  the  recipient  of  its  bounty,  so  a 
life  consecrated  to  a  noble  purpose  pours  forth  a 
constant  flood  of  helpfulness;  and  man  is  as  little 
able  to  follow  through  succeeding  generations  the 
good  that  he  does  as  the  spring  is  to  trace  the 
refreshing  influence  of  its  waters. 

I  have  dwelt  at  length  upon  the  ideal  because  it 
is  of  transcendent  importance  both  to  the  indi 
vidual  and  to  those  about  him.  Whether  life  is  a 
success  or  not  depends  far  more  upon  the  moral 
purpose  than  it  does  upon  the  health  or  mental 
strength  of  the  individual.  History  is  replete  with 
instances  where  men  and  women  have  accomplished 
much  in  spite  of  great  physical  infirmity.  Help 
less  cripples  and  persons  deformed  have  some 
times  won  a  fame  denied  to  athletes  and  to  gladi 
ators;  sightless  eyes  have  often  beheld  spiritual 
beauties  which  multitudes  have  failed  to  find ;  the 
bed  of  the  invalid  has  sometimes  been  a  throne 
from  which  have  flown  blessings  greater  than  a 
monarch  can  bestow.  Not  only  has  a  high  pur 
pose  overcome  physical  obstacles,  but  it  has  often 
made  up  for  the  lack  of  educational  advantages. 
In  innumerable  cases  an  uneducated  person,  in- 
spired  by  love  for  a  great  cause  and  filled  with  zeal, 
has  surpassed  those  far  better  equipped,  but  lack 
ing  a  compelling  purpose. 

If  I  were  gifted  with  the  power  to  penetrate  the 
future  and  could  discern  the  careers  which  lie 


308  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

before  the  graduates  of  this  day,  I  would  doubt 
less  note  a  wide  difference  in  accomplishments. 
Making  allowance  for  different  standards  of  meas 
urement,  some  will  be  more  successful  than  others ; 
some  will  surprize  their  friends  by  the  progress 
which  they  make,  others  may  prove  a  disappoint 
ment,  and  the  ideal  which  to-day  lies  within  each 
heart,  or  may  hereafter  be  planted  there,  will  have 
more  to  do  in  explaining  the  success  or  failure  than 
the  studies  that  have  been  pursued  here — more 
than  any  health  report  would  indicate. 

In  the  Memorabilia  of  Socrates  you  will  find  an 
interesting  description  of  the  choice  of  Hercules. 
The  great  philosopher  quotes  another  Greek  in  sub 
stance  as  follows: 

"When  Hercules  was  advancing  toward  the  period  when 
the  young  begin  to  give  intimations  whether  they  will  enter 
life  by  the  path  of  virtue  or  by  that  of  vice,  he  went  forth 
into  a  solitary  place  and  sat  down  perplexed  as  to  which 
of  these  two  paths  he  would  pursue.  Two  maidens  ap 
peared  before  him,  one  in  gaudy  attire  and  with  froward 
manner  said :  'Hercules,  if  you  will  follow  the  path  that 
I  point  out  you  shall  taste  of  every  species  of  pleasure,  and 
lead  a  life  free  from  every  sort  of  trouble.  Your  whole 
time  will  be  occupied  in  considering  what  meat  or  drink  will 
please  you,  and  what  will  most  delight  you.'  Hercules 
asked  her  name,  and  she  replied :  'My  friends  call  me  Hap 
piness  but  those  who  hate  me  give  me  to  my  disparagement 
the  name  of  Vice.' 

"The  other  maiden,  more  reserved  in  manner  and  more 
modest  in  demeanor  said  to  him  :  'Hercules,  I  shall  not  de 
ceive  you.  The  path  that  I  point  out  is  full  of  labors,  full 
of  trials,  full  of  difficulties,  but  it  is  a  path  that  leads  to 
immortality.  If  you  seek  to  be  beloved  by  your  friends 
you  must  serve  your  friends.  If  you  desire  to  be  honored 
by  any  city,  you  must  benefit  that  city ;  if  you  wish  to  be 
admired  by  all  Greece  for  your  merit  you  must  endeavor  to 
be  of  service  to  all  Greece.'  And  her  name  was  Virtue." 


MAN  309 

That  which  is  told  in  story  by  the  ancient  phil 
osopher  is  set  forth  in  the  form  of  an  injunction 
by  the  Master,  for  when  his  disciples  asked  who 
should  be  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  he 
answered,  "Let  him  who  would  be  chief est  among 
you  be  the  servant  of  all."  Thus,  if  we  seek  au 
thority  from  history — whether  profane  or  sacred — 
we  find  that  he  is  the  greatest  who  does  the  most 
of  good.  This  is  the  law  from  which  there  is  no. 
appeal — a  law  confirmed  by  all  experience,  a  law 
proved  by  the  inscriptions  upon  the  monuments 
reared  by  grateful  hands  to  those  whom  the  world 
calls  great. 

And  what  an  opportunity  for  service  this  age 
presents!  If  I  had  my  choice  of  all  the  ages  in 
which  to  live,  I  would  choose  the  present  above  all 
others.  The  ocean  steamer  and  the  railwa}r  train 
bring  all  the  corners  of  the  earth  close  together, 
while  the  telegraph — wire  and  wireless — gives 
wings  to  the  news  and  makes  the  events  of  each 
day  known  in  every  land  during  the  following 
night.  The  printing  press  has  popularized  knowl 
edge  and  made  it  possible  for  each  one  who  desires 
it  to  possess  a  key  to  the  libraries  of  the  world. 
Invention  has  multiplied  the  strength  of  the  hu 
man  arm  and  brought  within  the  reach  of  the 
masses  comforts  which,  until  recently,  even  wealth 
could  not  buy.  The  word  "neighborhood"  no  lon 
ger  describes  a  community;  that  "all  ye  are  breth 
ren"  can  be  more  readily  comprehended  than  ever 
before.  It  is  easier  for  one  to  distribute  blessings 
to  the  world  today  than  it  was  a  few  centuries  ago 
to  be  helpful  to  the  residents  of  a  single  valley.  A 


310  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

good  example  set  anywhere  can  be  seen  everywhere, 
so  intimate  has  become  the  relation  between  man 
and  man. 

And  yet  with  the  wonderful  spread  of  knowledge 
and  the  marvelous  range  of  achievement  there  is 
vast  work  to  be  done.  Conscience  has  not  kept 
pace  with  commerce,  nor  has  moral  growth  in 
creased  with  the  growth  of  wealth.  The  extremes 
of  society  have  been  driven  farther  and  farther 
apart,  and  the  chord  of  sympathy  between  rich  and 
poor  is  greatly  strained.  Destitution  and  squalor 
lurk  in  the  shadow  of  palaces,  and  great  law 
breakers  vie  with  petty  thieves  in  ignoring  the  stat 
utes  of  the  State.  The  instrumentalities  of  govern 
ment  are  being  used  for  public  plunder,  and  those 
who  make  fortunes  through  legislation  employ  a 
tithe  of  their  winnings  for  the  corruption  of  the 
sources  of  public  opinion.  Not  only  is  a  bribe 
dangled  before  the  eyes  of  the  indigent  voter,  but 
those  who  profit  through  the  control  of  the  gov 
ernment  do  not  hesitate  to  subsidize  newspapers 
and  to  scatter  their  hush  money  wherever  a  pro 
test  can  be  silenced. 

The  opportunity  is  here  and  the  field  inviting. 
A  great  orator  complained  a  generation  ago  that 
the  scholar  in  the  republic  was  not  doing  the  work 
for  which  his  education  fitted  him.  He  declared 
that  the  great  truths  relating  to  society  were  not 
the  result  of  scholarly  meditation,  but  had  been 
first  heard  in  the  solemn  protest  of  martyred  pat 
riotism  and  the  loud  cries  of  crusht  and  starving 
labor — that  the  scholars,  instead  of  making  history, 
were  content  to  write  it  "one-half  truly  and  the 


MAN  311 

other  half  as  their  prejudices  might  blur  and  dis 
tort  it." 

Let  not  this  reproach  be  truthfully  uttered 
against  the  scholars  of  America  today.  With  a 
soil  capable  of  supporting  a  vast  population ;  with 
a  climate  that  gives  infinite  variety  and  furnishes 
healing  for  every  ill;  with  a  people  commingling 
the  best  blood  of  all  the  races,  and  a  government 
which  furnishes  the  greatest  stimulus  to  high  en 
deavor — here  the  scholar  ought  to  find  the  most 
powerful  incentive  and  be  inspired  to  the  most 
heroic  effort.  Whether  he  turns  his  attention  to 
the  improvement  of  crops  and  herds,  to  mechanical 
labor,  to  the  perfecting  of  methods  of  exchange 
or  to  the  cheapening  of  transportation,  or  ministers 
as  a  physician  to  the  ills  of  the  body,  or  as  an  in 
structor  to  the  wants  of  the  mind,  or  as  a  religious 
teacher  to  the  needs  of  the  heart, — no  matter  to 
what  he  devotes  himself,  infinite  possibilities  are 
before  him.  In  whatever  walk  of  life  he  takes  his 
place  he  cannot  shirk  the  duties  of  citizenship,  for, 
living  in  a  land  where  every  citizen  is  a  sovereign 
and  where  no  one  dares  to  wear  a  crown,  he  mustt 
help  to  make  the  government  good  or  share  the 
blame  for  permitting  evils  that  might  be  corrected. 

If  we  apply  the  term  coward  to  one  who,  from 
fear  of  bodily  harm,  falters  upon  the  battlefield,  we 
must  find  some  harsher  term  to  apply  to  those 
who  ignominiously  withdraw  themselves  from  the 
struggle  of  today,  in  the  presence  of  the  tremen 
dous  problems  which  require  for  their  wise  solu 
tion  all  the  energies  of  the  body,  all  the  powers  of 
the  mind  and  all  the  virtues  of  the  heart. 


312  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

Members  of  the  graduating  class :  I  have  endeav 
ored  to  impress  upon  your  minds  and  hearts,  first, 
the  possibilities  for  good  or  evil  of  a  human  being, 
and,  second,  the  responsibility  which  great  oppor 
tunity  imposes  upon  him.  I  have  endeavored  to 
suggest  the  relation  which  should  exist  between 
body  and  mind  and  heart.  I  have  endeavored  to 
emphasize  the  paramount  importance  of  the  moral 
element.  Your  labors  are  not  ended,  but  begun. 
You  are  not  going  into  undisturbed  retirement,  but 
into  the  nation's  busy,  throbbing  life.  You  have 
been  "burning  the  midnight  oil";  henceforth  you 
stand  in  the  sunlight.  Fear  not  to  mingle  with  the 
poor  and  the  unlearned ;  they  need  you  most.  You 
will  find  among  them  the  homely  virtues  and  you 
will  find  among  them  honest  inquiry,  for  it  was  not 
in  speaking  of  such  that  it  was  said:  "The  cares 
of  this  world  and  the  deceitfulness  of  riches  choke 
the  truth." 

Strive  to  make  your  lives  resemble  a  purifying 
stream,  remembering  that  the  higher  the  reservoir 
from  which  you  draw  the  greater  will  be  the  pres 
sure.  Let  not  happiness  be  the  aim  of  your  lives, 
for  happiness  eludes  those  who  most  eagerly  pur 
sue  it,  but  comes  unbidden  into  the  homes  of  those 
who  labor  for  higher  ends. 

Beware  of  selfishness,  for  selfishness  defeats  itself. 
"He  that  findeth  his  life  shall  lose  it"  is  true  in 
other  than  a  religious  sense,  while  he  who  surren 
ders  himself  unreservedly  to  some  great  cause  gains 
a  larger  life  than  the  one  surrendered.  Wendell 
Phillips  gives  fitting  expression  to  this  truth  when 
he  says,  *  *  How  prudently  most  men  sink  into  name- 


MAN  •  313 

less  graves,  while  now  and  then  a  few  forget  them 
selves  into  immortality." 

I  have  endeavored  to  suggest  an  ideal  which  may 
be  helpful  to  you  when  the  festivities  of  this  closing 
week  are  past  and  you  turn  to  the  sober  work  of 
life.    No  ideal  is  a  sufficient  one  that  will  not  satisfy 
us  in  our  declining  years,  as  well  as  in  the  days  of 
youth  and  the  days  of  maturity.     Aye,  more,  no 
ideal  is  all  that  it  should  be  unless  it  is  so  lofty  as 
to  be  visible  from  both  sides  of  the  river  that  sep 
arates  the  temporal  life  from  the  life  that  is  eternal. 
Be  not  discouraged   because  you  strive   for   that 
which   cannot   be   wholly   attained.     The  ideal   is 
only  ideal  because  it  is  beyond  our  reach,  and  yet 
it  may  guide  us  as  the  polar  star  guides  the  mariner 
upon  the  open  sea.     If  perfection  is  not  possible 
to  us,  neither  is  it  required  of  us.    When  we  have 
done  our  full  duty  our  consciences  will  acquit  us, 
and  our  friends  will  not  condemn.     "We  work  in 
the  real,  but  we  live  in  the  ideal,"  some  one  has 
said,  and  yet  the  ideal  is  the  most  real  thing  that 
we  know,  as  all  can  testify. 

Ask  the  mother  who  holds  in  her  arms  her  boy, 
what  her  ideal  is  concerning  him  and  she  will  tell 
you  that  she  desires  that  his  heart  may  b^  so  pure 
that  it  could  be  laid  upon  a  pillow  and  not  leave  a 
stain ;  that  his  ambition  may  be  so  holy  that  it  could 
be  whispered  in  an  angel's  ear,  and  that  his  life 
may  be  so  clean  that  his  mother,  his  sister,  his 
wife,  his  child,  could  read  a  record  of  its  every 
thought  and  act  without  a  blush.  But  ask  her  if 
she  will  require  this  perfection  in  her  son  before 
she  showers  her  love  upon  him,  and  she  will  answer 

II  21 


314  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 


"No."  She  will  tell  you  that  she  will  make  him. 
as  good  as  she  can;  that  she  will  follow  his  foot 
steps  with  a  daily  prayer;  that  in  whatever  land 
he  wanders  her  blessing  will  abide  with  him;  and 
that  when  he  dies  she'll  hope,  hope,  yes,  hope  that 
the  world  will  be  better  that  he  has  lived.  This  is 
all  that  she  can  do.  All  that  any  of  us  can  do  for 
ourselves  or  for  others  is  the  best  that  opportunity 
and  circumstances  permit. 

The  development  of  the  individual  is  never  com 
plete.  Solomon  describes  the  path  of  the  just  as 
''like  the  shining  light  that  shineth  more  and  more 
unto  the  perfect  day,"  and  Holland,  putting  the 
same  thought  into  verse,  says: 

^'Heaven  is  not  gained  by  a  single  bound. 
We   build   the  ladder  by  which   we  rise 
From  the  lowly  earth  to  the  vaulted  skies, 
And  mount  to  its  summit  round  by  round." 

So,  with  the  work  of  government  and  the  work  of 
civilization.  We  find  an  unfinished  work  when  we 
arrive;  we  leave  the  work  unfinished  when  we  are 
called  hence.  Each  day  marks  out  our  duty  for  us, 
and  it  is  for  us  to  devote  ourselves  to  it,  whatever 
it  may  be,  with  high  purpose  and  unfaltering  cour 
age.  Whether  we  live  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  our 
efforts  or  lay  down  the  work  before  the  victory  is 
won,  we  know  that  every  well-spoken  word  has  its 
influence ;  that  no  good  deed  is  ever  lost.  And  we 
know,  also,  that  no  one  can  count  his  life  on  earth 
as  spent  in  vain  if,  when  he  departs,  it  can  be  said : 
'The  night  is  darker  because  his  light  has  gone 
out ;  the  world  is  not  so  warm  because  his  heart  has 
grown  cold  in  death. 


IV 
MISSIONS 

An  address  delivered  before  a  number  of  church  societies, 
beginning  in  the  fall  of  1906. 

HAVING  been  a  church  member  from  the  age 
of  fourteen,  and  having  taken  an  interest 
in  church  work,  I  had  contributed  to  for 
eign  missions  as  to  other  branches  of  Christian 
work,  and  had  heard  numerous  addresses  by  mis 
sionaries  respecting  the  work  done  in  the  foreign 
field.  In  planning  a  trip  through  Asia  I  had  in 
tended  to  visit  a  mission  station  for  the  purpose  of 
informing  myself  as  to  the  environment  of  the  mis 
sionary  and  as  to  the  details  of  his  work;  circum 
stances,  however,  very  much  enlarged  my  oppor 
tunity  for  observation,  and  I  feel  that  I  am  only 
performing  a  duty  when  I  endeavor  to  convey  to 
your  minds  the  impression  made  upon  my  mind 
by  what  I  saw  in  the  Orient.  My  experience  and 
observation  suggest  answers  to  the  objections  which 
I  had  heard  raised  to  missionary  work  in  foreign 
lands,  and  it  may  be  worth  while  to  consider  some 
of  these  objections. 

First,  it  is  argued  that  "we  need  the  money  at 
home"  and  cannot  afford  to  send  it  abroad.  I  am 
satisfied  that  this  objection  is  not  sound.  The 
ministers  present  will  bear  me  out  in  the  assertion 
that  money  contributed  to  foreign  missions  is  not 
(315) 


316  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

subtracted  from  money  available  for  home  missions. 
The  foreign  missionary  work  is,  as  a  rule,  sup 
ported  by  those  who  are  interested  in  home  mis 
sions.  The  man  who  excuses  himself  from  contrib 
uting  to  foreign  missions  on  the  ground  that  he 
wants  to  keep  his  money  for  home  missions,  gener 
ally  finds  some  excuse  for  withholding  his  money, 
even  from  home  missions.  The  enthusiasm  aroused 
by  work  in  other  lands  so  enlarges  the  Christian's 
sympathies  that  the  home  missionary  work  is  bet 
ter  supported  than  it  would  be  if  foreign  mission 
ary  stations  were  abandoned. 

Akin  to  the  first  objection  is  the  second,  that 
"we  ought  to  correct  the  evils  at  home  before  we 
attempt  to  give  instruction  abroad."  No  one  will 
deny  that  we  have  a  great  deal  to  do  at  home,  but 
when  shall  we  begin  to  help  others  if  we  must  be 
perfect  ourselves  before  we  attempt  to  extend  aid? 
If  an  individual  refuses  to  give  advice  to  others,  or 
to  lend  assistance  in  the  reformation  of  others  until 
he  is  himself  perfect,  he  will  never  render  any 
service  to  others,  for  none  of  us  are  perfect.  Our 
nation  will  in  like  manner,  postpone  forever  the 
rendering  of  service  to  other  nations  if  it  waits 
until  there  is  nothing  more  to  be  done  at  home. 
No  matter  how  much  progress  we  make,  there  will 
always  be  room  for  improvement;  the  higher  we 
rise,  the  larger  the  area  of  our  vision  and  the  more 
we  see  that  needs  to  be  done.  If  we  are  ever 
going  to  be  helpful,  we  must  be  helpful  while  we 
are  still  imperfect.  The  command  is  not,  "Let 
him  that  is  perfect  help  the  imperfect,"  but  rather, 
"let  him  that  is  strong  help  the  weak."  Every 


MISSIONS  317 

effort  that  we  put  forth  to  help  others  strengthens 
us.  I  remember  hearing,  in  my  youth,  the  story 
of  two  travelers  in  the  mountains.  One  was  over 
come  by  cold  and  sank  down  discouraged;  the 
other,  instead  of  leaving  him  to  perish,  stayed, 
and  by  rubbing  him  sought  to  prolong  his  life.  The 
effort  kept  both  alive  until  help  came.  And  so  I 
am  satisfied  that  the  work  done  in  the  foreign  field 
strengthens  us  for  the  work  to  be  done  at  home, 
and  that  the  evidence  which  the  missionaries  bring 
us  of  the  triumphant  march  of  Christianity  inspires 
us  to  greater  activity,  both  at  home  and  abroad. 

Some  complain  that  the  missionaries  make  but 
few  conversions.  It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  pro 
gress  is  not  more  rppid.  and  yet  thpt  is  no  reason 
why  we  should  give  up  the  task.  The  progress  of 
Christianity  in  the  United  States  is  not  as  rapid 
as  we  would  like  to  have  it.  More  than  half  of 
the  adult  males  of  the  United  States  do  not  attend 
any  church,  and  that,  too,  in  a  land  where  we  see 
on  every  hand  evidences  of  the  advantages  which 
Christianity  has  brought  to  our  country.  If  here, 
where  the  environment  tends  to  bring  people  into 
the  Church,  so  many  remain  outside,  we  must  not 
be  surprized  if  the  spread  of  our  religion  is  even 
more  slow  among  the  heathen  where  it  is  often 
necessary  for  one  to  leave  home  and  friends  and  to 
submit  to  social  and  business  ostracism  to  become 
a  follower  of  Christ. 

But  in  spite  of  all  the  opposition  met  by  the  mis 
sionaries  Christianity  is  spreading.  The  growth  of 
Christianity  from  its  beginning  on  the  banks  of  the 
Jordan,  until  today,  when  its  converts  are  baptized 


318  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

in  all  rivers  of  the  earth,  is  so  graphically  described 
by  the  Rev.  Charles  Edward  Jefferson,  of  New 
York,  in  his  book  entitled,  "Things  Fundamental," 
that  I  take  the  liberty  of  quoting  him : 

"Christ  in  history!  There  is  a  fact — face  it.  According 
to  the  New  Testament,  Jesus  walked  along  the  shores  of  a 
little  sea  known  as  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  And  there  he  called 
Peter  and  Andrew  and  James  and  John  and  several  others 
to  be  his  followers,  and  they  left  all  and  followed  hiim. 
After  they  had  followed  him  they  revered  him,  and  later 
on  adored  and  worshiped  him.  He  left  them  on  their  faces, 
each  man  saying,  'My  Lord  and  my  God!'  All  that  is  in 
the  New  Testament. 

"But  put  the  New  Testament  away.  Time  passes ;  history 
widens ;  an  unseen  Presence  walks  up  and  down  the  shores 
of  a  larger  sea — the  sea  called  the  Mediterranean — and  thi.8 
unseen  Presence  calls  men  to  follow  him.  Tertullian,  Augus 
tine,  Anselm,  Aquinas,  Francis  of  Assisi,  Thomas  a  Kempis, 
Savonarola,  John  Huss,  Martin  Luther,  Philip  Melanchthou, 
Ulrica  Zwingli,  John  Calvin — another  twelve — and  these  all 
followed  him  and  cast  themselves  at  his  feet,  saying,  in  the 
words  of  the  earlier  twelve,  'My  Lord  and  My  God !' 

"Time  passes ;  history  advances ;  humanity  lives  its  life 
around  the  circle  of  a  larger  sea — the  Atlautiic  Ocean.  An 
unseen  Presence  walks  up  and  down  the  shores  calling  men 
to  follow  him.  He  calls  John  Knox,  John  Wesley,  George 
Whitefield,  Charles  Spurgeon,  Henry  Parry  Liddon,  Joseph 
Parker,  Jonathan  Edwards,  Horace  Bushnell,  Henry  Ward 
Beecher,  Richard  Saltus  Storrs,  Phillips  Brooks,  Dwight 
L.  Moody — another  twelve — and  these  leave  all  and  follow 
Tiini.  We  find  them  on  their  faces,  each  one  saying,  'My 
Lord  and  my  God !' 

"Time  passes;  history  is  widening;  humanity  is  building 
its  civilization  round  a  still  wider  sea — we  call  it  the  Pacific 
'Ocean.  An  unknown  Presence  moves  up  and  down  the 
shores  calling  men  to  follow  him,  and  they  are  doing  it. 
Another  company  of  twelve  is  forming.  And  what  took  place 
in  Palestine  nineteen  centuries  ago  is  taking  place  again  in 
our  own  day  and  under  our  own  eyes." 

A  fourth  objection  is  advanced  by  a  few,  namely, 
that  our  missionaries  may  by  their  mistakes  get  us 
into  trouble  with  other  nations.  Of  course,  people 


MISSIONS  319 

are  liable  to  make  mistakes,  whether  they  live 
abroad  or  at  home.  We  all  make  mistakes,  the  non- 
Christian  as  well  as  the  Christian,  the  layman  as 
well  as  the  preacher,  and  a  minister  may  make 
mistakes  in  Asia  as  well  as  in  the  United  States, 
but  I  am  convinced  that  the  good  that  the  mission 
aries  do  far  outweighs  any  harm  that  can  come  from 
their  mistakes.  They  make  us  more  friends  than 
enemies.  The  Americans  who  go  into  foreign  lands 
to  make  money  are  much  more  apt  to  involve  us 
in  diplomatic  controversies  than  the  missionaries 
who  devote  themselves  to  the  uplifting  of  the  peo 
ple  among  whom  they  go. 

The  last  objection  to  which  I  shall  refer  is  one 
that  is  now  made  with  less  frequency  than  for 
merly,  namely,  that  God  is  too  merciful  to  punish 
the  heathen  if  they  die  without  an  opportunity  to 
hear  the  gospel  and  that,  therefore,  it  is  not  neces 
sary  to  carry  the  gospel  to  them.  Some  have  even 
carried  this  argument  to  the  point  of  asserting 
that  if  the  heathen  are  free  from  guilt  until  they 
have  a  chance  to  reject  the  gospel,  we  endanger 
them  when  we  put  them  in  a  position  where  they 
may  reject  it.  I  am  not  going  to  attempt  to  set 
limits  to  the  mercy  of  the  Almighty  or  to  interpret 
his  plans  respecting  the  heathen  in  the  next  world, 
but  I  have  seen  the  heathen  in  this  life,  and  I  be 
lieve  that  we  owe  it  to  them,  as  a  religious  duty, 
to  carry  to  them  the  Christian  conception  of  life 
that  they  may  have  the  benefit  of  it  on  earth,  no 
matter  what  the  future  may  have  for  them.  If 
Christ's  conception  of  life  is  worthy  to  be  adopted 
by  us,  it  is  worthy  to  be  communicated  to  people 


320  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

everywhere — and  this  service  the  missionaries  are 
rendering. 

The  missionaries,  Protestant  and  Catholic,  are  to 
be  found  all  over  Asia. 

I  found  several  departments  of  work  fully  organ 
ized.  The  missionaries  are  building  churches  and 
increasing  the  number  of  congregations ;  I  attended 
church  at  several  places  and  was  imprest  with  the 
earnestness  of  the  native  Christians.  Japan,  it 
seems  to  me,  furnishes  a  great  field  for  missionary 
work,  and  Korea  is  scarcely  second  to  it.  In  China 
the  native  Christians  showed,  during  the  Boxer 
trouble,  a  heroism  which  equalled  that  displayed 
by  the  early  Christians. 

The  medical  missionaries  are  increasing  in  num 
ber  and  they  are  doing  a  very  important  work. 
The  aid  -which  they  render  is  of  a  kind  that  chal 
lenges  attention,  and  when  natives  know  that  the 
medical  missionary  is  actuated  by  love  rather  than 
by  a  desire  for  gain,  they  inquire  into  the  source 
of  his  love  and  the  reason  for  its  manifestation. 

The  American  College  is  also  a  potent  influence 
for  good.  These  schools  spring  up  about  the  mis 
sionary  stations  and  are  constantly  growing  in 
attendance  and  in  influence.  I  followed  an  un 
broken  chain  of  them  for  some  six  thousand  miles 
from  the  Pacific  to  the  Mediterranean;  I  looked 
into  the  faces  of  hundreds,  yes  thousands,  of  boys 
and  girls  taught  by  Americans  or  by  teachers  paid 
with  American  money,  and  I  rejoiced  that,  if  our 
country  could  not  boast  that  the  sun  never  sets 
upon  its  possessions,  it  has  a  prouder  boast,  namely, 
that  the  sun  never  sets  upon  American  philan- 


MISSIONS  321 

thropy.  Before  the  sun  goes  down  on  one  center 
of  civilization  established  by  American  money,  it 
rises  upon  another,  and  the  boundaries  of  these  cen 
ters  of  civilization  are  constantly  enlarging;  after 
awhile  the  boundaries  will  meet  and  when  the 
Orient  is  redeemed,  America  will  deserve  a  large 
share  of  credit.  One  cannot  measure  the  far- 
reaching  good  that  these  schools  are  doing.  When 
we  calculate  the  impress  that  a  life  can  make  upon 
a  nation,  and  then  remember  that  thousands  are 
instructed  in  these  schools  and  go  out  from  them  to 
touch  the  lives  and  hearts  of  the  people  of  the 
Orient,  who  will  attempt  to  estimate  the  total  good 
done?  Infinite  opportunities  open  before  each 
teacher  and  each  one  who  contributes  to  the  work 
has  a  part  in  the  result. 

I  found  that  the  Young  Men 's  Christian  Associa 
tion  and  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association 
have  already  gained  a  foothold  in  Asia.  At  Kaga- 
shima,  Japan,  I  attended  a  meeting  held  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Associa 
tion,  and  at  a  number  of  places  I  was  the  guest  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  At  the 
close  of  a  Young  Men 's  Christian  Association  meet 
ing  in  Allahabad,  India,  an  Indian  arose  and  asked 
me  to  assure  the  people  of  the  United  States  that 
Christian  ideals  have  made  a  deeper  impression 
than  the  church  membership  in  India  would  indi 
cate.  He  expressed  appreciation  of  the  mission 
aries  and  the  teachers  who  had  been  sent  to  them, 
and  complained  only  that  the  number  was  so  small 
compared  with  the  great  population  of  India. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  briefly  to  call  atten- 


322  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

tion  to  the  religions  which  our  missionaries  have 
to  meet.  If  I  had  derived  no  other  benefit  from 
the  trip  I  would  consider  the  time  well  spent  be 
cause  of  the  acquaintance  that  it  gave  me  with 
the  religions  and  philosophies  of  the  East. 

If  a  tree  is  to  be  known  by  its  fruits,  surely  the 
fruits  of  Christianity  justify  its  followers  in  claim 
ing  for  it  a  vast  superiority  over  other  religions, 
whether  we  compare  the  doctrines  taught  or  the 
general  effect  produced  by  the  religions. 

Take  Mohammedanism  for  instance.  It  has  sev 
eral  merits.  First,  it  rests  upon  a  belief  in  one 
God — the  Mohammedan  has  as  great  faith  in  Je 
hovah  as  the  Christian  has.  Second,  it  teaches 
prayer.  The  Mohammedan  is  as  careful  to  observe 
the  hour  of  prayer  as  is  the  Christian,  if  not  more 
so.  Five  times  a  day  he  kneels,  his  face  toward 
Mecca,  and  supplicates  his  Creator.  No  matter 
where  he  is,  the  prayer  is  on  his  lips.  If  he  is 
traveling  across  the  desert,  he  dismounts  from  his 
camel  and  spreads  his  blanket  upon  the  sand. 
There  is  something  to  respect  in  a  religion  that 
compels  man  to  commune  with  his  heavenly 
Father. 

But  the  Mohammedan  religion  degrades  woman. 
In  the  Mosque  there  is  a  place  for  men  to  kneel, 
but  if  the  women  enter  at  all  they  visit  only  the 
gallery,  and  there  they  are  screened  from  the  sight 
of  men  while  they  look  down  upon  the  worshipers. 
At  the  age  of  twelve  the  girl  is  taken  from  the 
companionship  of  others,  and  after  that  she  can 
not  go  unveiled  in  the  presence  of  men,  except 
those  of  her  own  family.  Among  the  followers 


MISSIONS  323 

of  the  Prophet  society  loses  the  inspiration  of 
woman's  presence  and  woman  loses  the  advantages 
of  social  intercourse.  Christianity,  on  the  other 
hand,  recognizes  that  woman's  rightful  place  is 
by  the  side  of  man ;  Christianity  regards  man  and 
woman  as  equal  cotenants  of  the  home  and  as 
joint  partners  in  the  responsibilities  and  joys  of  life. 

Mohammedanism  is  propagated  by  force,  while 
Christianity  rests  upon  love  and  is  spread  by 
moral  suasion.  Dr.  Parkhurst  once  illustrated  the 
difference  between  force  and  love  by  using  a  ham 
mer  to  represent  force.  With  it  a  chunk  of  ice 
could  be  broken  into  a  thousand  pieces,  but  each 
piece  would  still  be  ice.  Love  he  likened  to  a  ray 
of  sunshine  falling  upon  the  ice ;  it  would  act  slowly 
but  surely,  and  in  a  little  while  there  would  be 
no  more  ice.  Love  is  the  most  potent  influence  in 
the  world;  it  is  the  weapon  for  which  there  is  no 
shield,  and  Christianity  is  moving  with  irresistible 
force  because  love  is  the  principle  which  underlies  it. 

Buddhism  is  an  agnostic  religion.  One  of  the 
Buddhist  papers  published  in  Burma  urged  the 
sending  of  delegates  to  an  international  agnostic 
congress.  A  Buddhist  monk,  in  enumerating  the 
advantages  of  Buddhism,  told  me  that  one  did  not 
have  to  believe  anything  to  be  a  Buddhist.  It  is  a 
reformation  of  Hinduism.  Buddha  taught  that 
one  could  " escape  from  the  wheel" — from  the 
endless  round  of  existence,  by  absorption  into  the 
spirit  of  the  universe.  Arnold  has  described  it 
as  "the  dewdrop  melting  into  the  sea."  To  the 
Buddhist,  life  is  a  calamity  from  which  escape  is 
to  be  sought  in  the  loss  of  individuality;  Chris- 


324  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

tianity  regards  life  as  an  opportunity  to  be  crowned 
at  its  close  with  still  higher  existence. 

The  Buddhist  believes  that  if  one  has  done  evil 
through  an  indefinite  number  of  lives,  he  can  turn 
over  a  new  leaf  and  finally,  through  an  indefinite 
number  of  existences,  do  enough  good  to  overcome 
the  evil;  the  Christian  believes  that  through  re 
pentance  past  sins  can  be  blotted  out,  and  the  new 
life  commenced  at  once.  No  wonder  that  a  Jap 
anese  in  contrasting  Buddhism  with  Christianity 
said  that  the  former  looked  down  while  the  latter 
looked  up. 

I  was  more  disappointed  in  Confucianism  than 
in  either  Mohammedanism  or  Buddhism,  for  I  had 
been  led  to  form  a  higher  opinion  of  the  philosophy 
of  the  Chinese  Sage.  I  had  not  read  much  that 
Confucius  had  said,  altho  I  had  read  tributes  to 
his  wisdom,  but  the  more  I  read  of  his  utterances, 
the  more  my  admiration  for  him  diminished.  I 
have  wondered  whether  some  have  not  magnified  his 
teachings  in  order  to  find  in  them  justification  for 
the  rejection  of  the  teachings  of  the  Nazarene. 
The  golden  rule  of  Confucius  reads,  "Do  not  unto 
others  as  you  would  not  have  others  do  unto  you." 
The  Golden  Rule  of  Christ  is,  ''Do  unto  others 
as  you  would  have  others  do  unto  you."  There  is  a 
wide  difference  between  the  two;  one  is  nega 
tive  and  the  other  positive;  one  enjoins  a  life 
of  negative  harmlessness,  while  the  other  commands 
a  life  of  positive  helpfulness.  You  could  stand  by 
a  stream  and  watch  a  neighbor  fall  in  and  drown, 
and  if  you  did  not  push  him  in  you  need  not  pull 
him  out;  and  yet  you  would  not  violate  the  nega- 


MISSIONS  325 

live  form  of  the  rule,  but  you  would  violate  the 
positive  form  of  the  rule. 

The  Chinaman,  following  the  doctrine  of  Con 
fucius,  does  not  regard  it  as  a  duty  to  help  others, 
but  the  streams  of  Christian  benevolence  girdle 
the  globe. 

A  follower  of  Confucius  asked  him  if  there  was 
any  one  word  that  would  cover  all  the  relations  of 
society,  and  he  answered,  "Is  not  reciprocity  such 
a  word."  Reciprocity?  That  is  a  balancing  of 
benefits;  if  a  person  does  you  a  favor,  do  him  a 
favor,  and  do  him  just  about  as  much  of  a  favor 
as  he  does  you — keep  it  even.  It  is  the  calculating 
selfishness  upon  which  the  materialist  would  build 
a  morality.  According  to  the  philosophy  of  Con 
fucius,  we  should  measure  our  service  to  others  by 
the  service  that  others  have  rendered  us ;  but  Christ 
teaches  us  to  measure  our  service,  not  by  the  service 
that  has  been  rendered,  or  by  the  service  that  may 
be  rendered,  or  by  the  service  that  can  be  rendered, 
but  by  the  need  of  those  unto  whom  we  minister. 
Reciprocity?  That  is  not  sufficient.  The  Chris 
tian  nations  of  the  world  spend  hundreds  of  mil 
lions  a  year  to  make  life  more  pleasant  for  the 
helpless  and  unfortunate  who  cannot  hope  to  repay 
a  single  dollar  of  the  money  spent  upon  them. 

Another  follower  of  Confucius  asked  him  what 
he  thought  of  the  doctrine  that  evil  should  be 
rewarded  with  good,  and  he  replied:  "If  you 
reward  evil  with  good,  with  what  will  you  reward 
good  ? ' '  And  then  he  announced  his  rule, ' '  Reward 
evil  with  justice  and  reward  good  with  good." 
Reward  evil  with  justice?  How  can  one  tell  what 


326  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

justice  is  if  his  heart  is  full  of  hatred  and  he  is 
waiting  for  an  opportunity  for  revenge?  Only 
when  love  takes  the  place  of  hatred — only  when  one 
understands  his  relation  to  God,  and  understanding 
his  relations  to  God,  learns  of  his  kinship  with  his 
brother — can  he  know  what  justice  is  or  the  meas 
ure  thereof.  If  I  were  called  upon  to  name  the 
one  thing  which  more  than  any  other  distinguishes 
the  Christian  religion  from  all  other  religions  and 
moral  codes,  I  would  name  forgiveness — Christ 
taught  forgiveness,  and,  therefore,  he  could  com 
mand  his  followers  to  love  their  enemies  and  to 
return  good  for  evil. 

The  Chinese  boast  that  they  live  up  to  the  ideals 
of  Confucius,  but  those  ideals  could  be  embodied 
in  the  life  of  a  nation  without  lifting  the  nation  to 
a  high  plane,  and  I  believe  that  the  philosophy 
of  Confucius  is  largely  responsible  for  the  fact 
that  China  has  stood  still  for  twenty  centuries. 
The  people  easily  overtook  the  ideals  of  Confucius, 
and  when  a  man  overtakes  his  ideals  his  progress 
stops.  It  is  the  glory  of  the  Christian  ideal  that 
while  it  is  within  sight  of  the  weakest  and  the 
lowliest,  it  is  yet  so  high  that  it  keeps  the  best 
and  noblest  with  their  faces  turned  ever  upward; 
and  Christian  civilization  is  the  greatest  that  the 
world  has  ever  known  because  it  rests  upon  a  con 
ception  of  life  that  makes  life  an  unending  strug 
gle  upward,  with  no  limit  to  human  advancement 
or  development. 

If  religions  are  to  be  measured  by  the  results 
recorded  in  history,  behold  the  greatness  of  Chris 
tianity!  Except  where  they  have  borrowed  from 


MISSIONS  327 

the  Christian  nations  the  followers  of  Mohammed, 
the  followers  of  Buddha  and  the  followers  of  Con 
fucius  are  practically  where  they  were  fifteen  hun 
dred  or  two  thousand  years  go,  while  Christianity 
took  the  races  of  Europe  when  they  were  called 
barbarians  and  in  ten  centuries  has  enabled  them 
to  reach  a  civilization  surpassing  all  the  civiliza 
tions  or  the  past. 

How  shall  we  show  our  gratitude  for  the  bless 
ings  that  Christianity  has  brought  to  us?  We  are 
largely  indebted  to  it  for  the  benefits  which  flow 
from  universal  education ;  who  will  measure  its 
advantage  to  our  nation  ?  Christianity  has  strength 
ened  the  doctrine  of  self-government  by  teaching 
the  claims  of  brotherhood ;  who  will  estimate  the 
benefit  which  this  nation  has  derived  from  the  be 
lief  that  all  men  are  created  equal?  Christianity 
has  given  us  a  system  of  religion  which  leads  us 
to  the  worship  of  a  Creator;  it  has  taught  us  a 
sense  of  responsibility  to  a  personal  Gccl,  and  it 
has  set  before  us  a  measure  of  greatness  in  which 
he  is  to  be  the  chiefest  among  us  who  is  the  servant 
of  all.  What  is  it  worth  to  us  and  to  our  children 
to  be  permitted  to  enjoy  the  triple  blessings  of 
universal  education,  free  government  and  the  Chris- 
tion  religion?  We  cannot  repay  the  debt  to  those 
who  gave  us  these  things ;  they  are  dead.  These 
blessings  have  come  through  generations  of  toil  and 
sacrifice.  We  must  make  repayment  to  those  about 
us  and  to  those  who  come  after  us.  We  can  make 
part  payment  by  transmitting  these  institutions  to 
posterity,  not  only  unimpaired  but  improved;  but 
WQ  shall  not  discharge  the  debt  entirely  unless  we 


328  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

bring  these  institutions  to  the  attention  of  others 
who  know  them  not,  and  the  foreign  missionary 
field  furnishes  us  one  avenue  through  which  to 
manifest  our  gratitude  to  God  for  the  inestimable 
privileges  of  a  citizenship  to  which  Christianity  has 
so  largely  contributed. 

[NOTE  :  This  address  is  not  copyrighted,  and  can  be  re- 
publisfced  by  anyone  desiring  to  do  so,] 


V 
FAITH 

An  address  delivered  at  a  number  of  colleges  beginning 
in  1907. 

FAITH  exerts  a  controlling  influence  over 
our  lives.  If  it  is  argued  that  works  are 
more  important  than  faith.  I  reply  that 
faith  comes  first,  works  afterwards.  Until  one  be 
lieves,  he  does  not  act,  and  in  accordance  with  his 
faith,  so  will  be  his  deeds. 

Abraham,  called  of  God,  went  forth  in  faith  to 
establish  a  race  and  a  religion.  As  a  result  of  his 
faith  a  race  has  been  produced  not  surpassed  in 
its  achievements  by  any  other  race  in  history,  and 
as  a  result  of  his  faith  nearly  four  hundred  millions 
of  human  beings  are  adherents  of  a  monotheistic 
religion.  It  wras  faith  that  led  Columbus  to  dis 
cover  America,  and  faith  again  that  conducted  the 
early  settlers  to  Jamestown,  the  Dutch  to  New  York 
and  the  Pilgrims  to  Plymouth  Rock.  Faith  has  led 
the  pioneer  across  deserts  and  through  trackless 
forests,  and  faith  has  brought  others  in  his  foot 
steps  to  lay  in  our  land  the  foundations  of  a  civil 
ization  the  highest  that  the  world  has  known. 

I  might  draw  an  illustration  from  the  life  of 
each  one  of  you.  You  have  faith  in  education,  and 
that  faith  is  behind  your  study;  you  have  faith  in 
this  institution,  and  that  faith  brought  you  here; 

n  22  (329) 


330  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

your  parents  and  friends  have  had  faith  in  you 
and  have  helped  you  to  your  present  position. 
Without  faith  we  are  told  it  is  impossible  to  please 
God,  and  I  may  add  that  without  faith  it  is  impos 
sible  to  meet  the  expectations  of  those  who  are  most 
interested  in  you.  Let  me  present  this  subject 
under  four  heads: 

First — You  must  have  faith  in  yourselves.  Not 
that  you  should  carry  confidence  in  yourselves  to 
the  point  of  displaying  egotism,  and  yet,  egotism 
is  not  the  worst  possible  fault.  My  father  was  wont 
to  say  that  if  a  man  had  the  big  head,  you  could 
whittle  it  down,  but  that  if  he  had  the  little  head, 
there  was  no  hope  for  him.  If  you  have  the  big 
head  others  will  help  you  reduce  it,  but  if  you  have 
the  little  head,  they  can  not  help  you.  You  must 
believe  that  you  can  do  things  or  you  will  not  un 
dertake  them.  Those  who  lack  faith  attempt  noth 
ing  and  therefore  can  not  possibly  succeed;  those 
with  great  faith  attempt  the  seemingly  impossible 
and  by  attempting  prove  what  man  can  do. 

But  you  can  not  have  faith  in  yourselves  unless 
you  are  conscious  that  you  are  prepared  for  your 
work.  If  one  is  feeble  in  body,  he  can  not  have  the 
confidence  in  his  physical  strength  that  the  athlete 
has,  and  as  physical  strength  is  necessary  one  is 
justified  in  devoting  to  exercise  and  to  the  strength 
ening  of  the  body  such  time  as  may  be  necessary. 

Intellectual  training  is  also  necessary,  and  more 
necessary  than  it  used  to  be.  When  but  few  had 
the  advantages  of  a  college  education,  the  lack  of 
such  advantages  was  not  so  apparent.  Now  when 
so  many  of  the  lawyers,  physicians,  journalists,  and 


FAITH  331 

even  business  men,  are  college  graduates,  one  can 
not  afford  to  enter  any  field  without  the  best  pos 
sible  intellectual  preparation.  When  one  comes  into 
competition  with  his  fellows,  he  soon  recognizes  his 
own  intellectual  superiority  or  inferiority  as  com 
pared  with  others.  )  In  China  they  have  a  very 
interesting  bird  contest.  The  singing  lark  is  the 
most  popular  bird  there,  and  as  you  go  along  the 
streets  of  a  Chinese  city  you  see  Chinamen  out 
airing  their  birds.  These  singing  larks  are  entered 
in  contests,  and  the  contests  are  decided  by  the  birds 
themselves.  If,  for  instance,  a  dozen  are-  entered, 
they  all  begin  to  sing  lustily,  but  as  they  sing,  one 
after  another  recognizes  that  it  is  outclassed  and 
gets  down  off  of  its  perch,  puts  its  head  under  its 
wing  and  will  not  sing  any  more.  At  last  there 
is  just  one  bird  left  singing,  and  it  sings  with  an 
enthusiasm  that  shows  that  it  recognizes  its  victory. 
So  it  is  in  all  intellectual  contests.  Put  twenty 
men  in  a  room  and  let  them  discuss  any  important 
question.  At  first  all  will  take  part  in  the  discus 
sion,  but  as  the  discussion  proceeds,  one  after  an 
other  drops  out  until  finally  two  are  left  in  debate, 
one  on  one  side  and  one  on  the  other.  The  rest 
are  content  to  have  their  ideas  presented  by  those 
who  can  present  them  best.  If  you  are  going  to 
have  faith,  therefore,  in  yourselves,  you  must  be 
prepared  to  meet  your  competitors  upon  an  equal 
plane,  and  if  you  are  prepared,  they  will  be  con 
scious  of  it  as  well  as  you. 

A  high  purpose  is  also  a  necessary  part  of  your 
preparation.  You  can  not  afford  to  put  a  low  pur 
pose  in  competition  with  a  high  one.  If  you  go  out 


332  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

to  work  from  a  purely  selfish  standpoint,  you  will 
be  ashamed  to  stand  in  the  presence  of  those  who 
have  higher  aims  and  nobler  ambitions.  Have  faith 
in  yourselves,  but  to  have  faith  you  must  be  pre 
pared  for  your  work,  and  this  preparation  must  be 
moral  and  intellectual  as  well  as  physical. 

Second — Have  faith  in  mankind.  The  great  fault 
of  our  scholarship  is  that  it  is  not  sufficiently  sym 
pathetic.  It  holds  itself  aloof  from  the  struggling 
masses.  It  is  too  often  cold  and  cynical.  It  is  better 
to  trust  your  fellowmen  and  be  occasionally  de 
ceived  than  to  be  distrustful  and  live  alone.  Man 
kind  deserves  to  be  trusted.  There  is  something 
good  in  every  one,  and  that  good  responds  to  sym 
pathy.  If  you  speak  to  the  multitude  and  they 
do  not  respond,  do  not  despise  them,  but  rather 
examine  what  you  have  said.  If  you  speak  from 
your  heart,  you  will  speak  to  their  hearts,  and 
they  can  tell  very  quickly  whether  you  are  inter 
ested  in  them  or  simply  in  yourself.  The  heart  of 
mankind  is  sound ;  the  sense  of  justice  is  universal. 
Trust  it,  appeal  to  it,  do  not  violate  it.  People 
differ  in  race  characteristics,  in  national  traditions, 
in  language,  in  ideas  of  government,  and  in  forms 
of  religion,  but  at  heart  they  are  very  much  alike. 
I  fear  the  plutocracy  of  wealth ;  I  respect  the  plu 
tocracy  of  learning;  I  thank  God  for  the  democ 
racy  of  the  heart.  You  must  love  if  you  would  be 
loved.  "They  loved  Him  because  He  first  loved 
them" — this  is  the  verdict  pronounced  where  men 
have  unselfishly  labored  for  the  welfare  of  the 
whole  people.  Link  yourselves  in  sympathy  with 
your  fellowmen ;  mingle  with  them ;  know  them  and 


FAITH  333 

you  will  trust  them  and  they  will  trust  you.  If 
you  are  stronger  than  others,  bear  heavier  loads ;  if 
you  are  more  capable  than  others,  show  it  by  your 
willingness  to  perform  a  larger  service. 

Third — If  you  are  going  to  accomplish  anything 
in  this  country,  you  must  have  faith  in  our  form 
of  government,  and  there  is  every  reason  why  you 
should  have  faith  in  it.  It  is  the  best  form  of 
government  ever  conceived  by  the  mind  of  man, 
and  it  is  spreading  throughout  the  world.  It  is 
best,  not  because  it  is  perfect,  but  because  it  cant- 
be  made  as  perfect  as  the  people  deserve  to  have. 
It  is  a  people's  government,  and  it  rejects  the  vir 
tue  and  intelligence  of  the  people.  As  the  people 
make  progress  in  virtue  and  in  intelligence,  the 
government  ought  to  approach  more  and  more 
nearly  to  perfection.  It  will  never,  of  course,  be 
entirely  free  from  faults,  because  it  must  be  admin 
istered  by  human  beings,  and  imperfection  is  to  be 
expected  in  the  work  of  human  hands. 

Jefferson  said  a  century  ago  that  there  were 
naturally  two  parties  in  every  country,  one  which 
drew  to  itself  those  who  trusted  the  people,  the 
other  which  as  naturally  drew  to  itself  those  who 
distrusted  the  people.  That  was  true  when  Jef 
ferson  said  it,  and  it  is  true  today.  In  every 
country  there  is  a  party  which  is  seeking  to  enlarge 
the  participation  of  the  people  in  government, 
and  that  party  is  the  growing  party.  In  every 
country  there  is  a  party  which  is  endeavoring  to 
obstruct  each  step  toward  popular  government,  and 
it  is  the  dying  party.  In  this  country  the  tendency 
is  constantly  toward  more  popular  government, 


334  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

and  every  effort  which  has  for  its  object  the  bring 
ing  of  the  Government  into  closer  touch  with  the 
people  is  sure  of  ultimate  triumph. 

Our  form  of  government  is  good.  Call  it  a 
democracy  if  you  are  a  democrat,  or  a  republic 
if  you  are  a  republican,  but  help  to  make  it  a 
government  of  the  people,  by  the  people  and  for 
the  people.  A  democracy  is  wiser  than  an  aristoc 
racy  because  a  democracy  can  draw  from  the  wis 
dom  of  the  people,  and  all  of  the  people  know  more 
than  any  part  of  the  people.  A  democracy  is 
stronger  than  a  monarchy  because,  as  the  historian, 
Bancroft,  has  said:  "It  dares  to  discard  the  im 
plements  of  terror  and  build  its  citadel  in  the  hearts 
of  men. ' '  And  a  democracy  is  the  most  just  form 
of  government  because  it  is  built  upon  the  doc- 
trine  that  men  are  created  equal,  that  governments 
are  instituted  to  protect  the  inalienable  rights  of 
the  people  and  that  governments  derive  their  just 
powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed. 

We  know  that  a  grain  of  wheat  planted  in  the 
ground  will,  under  the  influence  of  the  sunshine 
and  rain,  send  forth  a  blade,  and  then  a  stalk, 
and  then  the  full  head,  because  there  is  behind  the 
grain  of  wheat  a  force  irresistible  and  constantly 
at  work.  There  is  behind  moral  and  political  truth 
a  force  equally  irresistible  and  always  operating, 
and  just  as  we  may  expect  the  harvest  in  due  sea 
son,  we  may  be  sure  of  the  triumph  of  these  eter 
nal  forces  that  make  for  man's  uplifting.  Have 
faith  in  your  form  of  government,  for  it  rests  upon 
a  growing  idea,  and  if  you  will  but  attach  yourself 
to  that  idea,  you  will  grow  with  it. 


FAITH  335 

But  the  subject  presents  itself  in  another  aspect. 
You  must  not  only  have  faith  in  yourselves,  in 
humanity  and  in  the  form  of  government  under 
which  we  live,  but  if  you  would  do  a  great  work, 
you  must  have  faith  in  God.  Do  not  call  me  a 
preacher,  for  I  am  but  a  layman;  yet,  I  am  not 
willing  that  the  minister  shall  monopolize  the  bless 
ings  of  Christianity,  and  I  do  not  know  of  any 
moral  precept  binding  upon  the  preacher  behind 
the  pulpit  that  is  not  binding  upon  the  Christian 
whose  acceptance  would  not  be  helpful  to  everyone. 
I  am  not  speaking  from  the  minister's  standpoint 
but  from  the  observation  of  every  day  life  when  I 
say  that  there  is  a  wide  difference  between  the  de 
sire  to  live  so  that  men  will  applaud  you  and  the 
desire  to  live  so  that  God  will  be  satisfied  with  you. 
Man  needs  the  inner  strength  that  comes  from  faith 
in  God  and  belief  in  His  constant  presence. 

Man  needs  faith  in  God,  therefore,  to  strengthen 
him  in  his  hours  of  trial,  and  he  needs  it  to  give 
him  courage  to  do  the  work  of  life.  How  can  one 
fight  for  a  principle  unless  he  believes  in  the  tri 
umph  of  the  right?  How  can  he  believe  in  the  , 
triumph  of  the  right  if  he  does  not  believe  that 
God  stands  back  of  the  truth  and  that  God  is  able 
to  bring  victory  to  truth?  The  man  of  faith,  be 
lieving  that  every  word  spoken  for  truth  will  have 
its  influence  and  that  no  blow  struck  for  righteous 
ness  is  struck  in  vain,  fights  on  without  asking 
whether  he  is  to  fall  in  the  beginning  of  the 
battle  or  to  live  to  join  in  the  shouts  of  triumph. 
He  knows  not  whether  he  is  to  live  for  the 
truth  or  to  die  for  it,  and  if  he  has  the  faith 


336  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

he  ought  to  have,  he  is  as  ready  to  die  for  it  as 
to  live  for  it. 

Faith  will  not  only  give  you  strength  when  you 
fight  for  righteousness,  but  your  faith  will  bring 
dismay  to  your  enemies.  There  is  power  in  the 
presence  of  an  honest  man  who  does  right  because 
it  is  right  and  dares  to  do  the  right  in  the  face 
of  all  opposition.  It  is  true  today,  and  has  been 
true  through  all  history  that  "One  with  God  shall 
chase  a  thousand,  and  two  put  ten  thousand  to 
flight." 

If  your  preparation  is  complete  so  that  you  are 
conscious  of  your  ability  to  do  great  things ;  if  you 
have  faith  in  your  fellowmen  and  become  a  colab- 
orer  with  them  in  the  raising  of  the  general  level 
of  society ;  if  you  have  faith  in  our  form  of  govern 
ment  and  seek  to  purge  it  of  its  imperfections  so 
as  to  make  it  more  and  more  acceptable  to  our  own 
people  and  to  the  opprest  of  other  nations;  and  if, 
in  addition,  you  have  faith  in  God  and  in  the  tri 
umph  of  the  right,  no  one  can  set  limits  to  your 
achievements.  This  is  the  greatest  of  all  the  ages 
in  which  to  live.  The  railroads  and  the  telegraph 
wires  have  brought  the  corners  of  the  earth  close 
together,  and  it  is  easier  today  for  one  to  be  helpful 
to  the  whole  world  than  it  was  a  few  centuries 
ago  to  be  helpful  to  the  inhabitants  of  a  single 
valley.  This  is  the  age  of  great  opportunity  and 
of  great  responsibility.  Let  your  faith  be  large, 
and  let  this  large  faith  inspire  you  to  perform  a 
large  service. 

(NOTE:  This  address  is  not  copyrighted  and  can  be 
republished  by  anyone  desiring  to  do  so.) 


VI 
THE   PRICE  OF  A  SOUL 

Abstract  of  an  address  delivered,  first  at  the  North- 
wusteriv  Law  School  Banquet  iii  Chicago,  then  as  a  Coui- 
aioiieeuient  Oration  at  the  Pierce  School  in  Philadelphia 
and,  in  1909,  extended  into  a  lecture. 

THE  fact  that  Christ  dealt  with  this  subject 
is  proof  conclusive  that  it  is  important, 
for  He  never  dealt  with  trivial  things. 
When  Christ  focused  attention  upon  a  theme  it  was 
because  it  was  worthy  of  consideration — and  Christ 
weighed  the  soul.  He  presented  the  subject,  too, 
with  surpassing  force;  no  one  will  ever  add  em 
phasis  to  what  He  said.  He  understood  the  value 
of  the  question  in  argument.  If  you  will  examine 
the  great  orations  delivered  at  crises  in  the  world's 
history,  you  will  find  that  in  nearly  every  case  the 
speaker  condensed  the  whole  subject  into  a  ques 
tion,  and  in  that  question  embodied  what  he  re 
garded  as  an  unanswerable  argument.  Christ  used 
the  question  to  give  force  to  the  thought  which  he 
presented  in  regard  to  the  soul's  value. 

On  one  side  He  put  the  world  and  all  that  the 
world  can  contain — all  the  wealth  that  one  can  ac 
cumulate,  all  the  fame  to  which  one  can  aspire, 
and  all  the  happiness  that  one  can  covet ;  and  on 
the  other  side  he  put  the  soul,  and  asked  the  ques 
tion  that  has  come  ringing  down,  the  centuries: 
(337) 


338  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

"What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole 
world  and  lose  his  own  soul?" 

There  is  no  compromise  here — no  partial  state 
ment  of  the  matter.  He  leaves  us  to  write  one  term 
of  the  equation  ourselves.  He  gives  us  all  the  time 
we  desire,  and  allows  the  imagination  to  work  to 
the  limit,  and  when  we  have  gathered  together  into 
one  sum  all  things  but  the  soul,  He  asks — What  if 
you  gain  it  all — all — ALL,  and  lose  the  soul  ?  What 
is  the  profit? 

Some  have  thought  the  soul  question  a  question 
of  the  next  world  only,  but  it  is  a  question  of  this 
world  also;  some  have  thought  the  soul  question  a 
Sabbath-day  question  only,  but  it  is  a  week-day 
question  as  well;  some  have  thought  the  soul  ques 
tion  a  question  for  the  ministers  alone,  but  it  is  a 
question  which  we  all  must  meet.  Every  day  and 
every  week,  every  month  and  every  year,  from  the 
time  we  reach  the  period  of  accountability  until  we 
die,  we — each  of  us — all  of  us,  weigh  the  soul ;  and 
just  in  proportion  as  we  put  the  soul  above  all 
things  else  we  build  character;  the  moment  we 
allow  the  soul  to  become  a  matter  of  merchandise, 
we  start  on  the  downward  way. 

Tolstoy  says  that  if  you  would  investigate  the 
career  of  a  criminal  it  is  not  sufficient  to  begin 
with  the  commission  of  a  crime;  that  you  must  go 
back  to  that  day  in  his  life  when  he  deliberately 
trampled  upon  his  conscience  and  did  that  which 
he  knew  to  be  wrong.  And  so  with  all  of  us,  the 
turning  point  in  the  life  is  the  day  when  we  sur 
render  the  soul  for  something  that  for  the  time 
being  seems  more  desirable. 


THE  PRICE  OF  A  SOUL  339 

>st  of  the  temptations  that  come  to  us  to  sell 
the  soul  come  in  connection  with  the  getting  of 
money.  ^The  Bible  says,  "The  love  of  money  is  the 
root  ofall  evil."  If  I  had  been  making  the  state 
ment,  I  think  I  would  have  said  that  the  love  of 
money  is  the  root  of  nearly  all  evil.  But  that  is 
probably  due  to  the  fact  that  I  am  so  conservative 
in  thought  and  in  method  of  statement,  that  I  pre 
fer  to  leave  a  margin  in  the  statement  of  a  propo 
sition,  so  that  if  anybody  disputes  it  I  can  bring 
proof  of  more  than  I  said.  But  the  Bible  says,  "The 
love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil/'  and  I  shall 
not  attempt  to  weaken  the  statement.  If  it  is  a 
mistake  at  all  it  is  so  slight  a  mistake  that  we  need 
not  spend  time  in  correcting  it. 

And  because  so  many  of  our  temptations  come 
through  the  love  of  money  and  the  desire  to  obtain 
it,  it  is  worth  while  to  consider  the  laws  of  accumu 
lation.  We  must  all  have  money;  we  need  food 
and  clothing  and  shelter,  and  money  is  necessary 
for  the  purchase  of  these  things.  Money  is  not  an 
evil  in  itself — money  is,  in  fact,  a  very  useful  serv 
ant.  It  is  bad  only  when  it  becomes  the  master, 
and  the  love  of  it  is  hurtful  only  because  it  can, 
and  often  does,  crowd  out  the  love  of  nobler  things. 

But  since  we  must  all  use  money  and  must  in  our 
active  days  store  up  money  for  the  days  when  our 
strength  fails,  let  us  see  if  we  can  agree  upon  the 
rules  that  should  govern  us  in  the  accumulation  of 
the  money  that  we  need.  How  much  money  can  a 
man  rightfully  collect  from  society?  Surely,  there 
can  be  no  disagreement  here.  He  cannot  rightfully 
collect  more  than  he  honestly  earns.  If  a  man  col- 


340  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

lect  more  than  he  honestly  earns,  he  collects  what 
somebody  else  has  earned,  and  we  call  it  stealing 
if  a  man  takes  that  which  belongs  to  another.  Not 
only  is  a  man  limited  in  his  collections  of  what  he 
honestly  earns,  but  no  honest  man  will  desire  to 
collect  more  than  he  earns. 

If  a  man  cannot  rightfully  collect  more  than  he 
honestly  earns,  it  is,  then,  a  matter  of  the  utmost 
importance  to  know  how  much  money  a  man  can 
honestly  earn.  I  venture  an  answer  to  this  and 
say  that  a  man  cannot  honestly  earn  more  than 
,  fairly  measures  the  service  which  he  renders  to  so- 
Xciety.  I  cannot  conceive  of  any  way  of  earning 
I  money  except  to  give  to  society  a  service  equivalent 
\in  value  to  the  money  collected.  This  is  a  funda 
mental  proposition  and  it  is  important  that  it  should 
be  clearly  understood,  for  if  one  desires  to  collect 
largely  from  society  he  must  be  prepared  to  render 
a  large  service  to  society;  and  our  schools  and  col 
leges,  our  churches  and  all  other  organizations  for 
the  improvement  of  man  have  for  one  of  their  chief 
objects  the  enlargement  of  the  capacity  for  service. 
There  is  an  apparent  exception  in  the  case  of  an 
inheritance,  but  it  is  not  a  real  exception,  for  if  the 
man  who  leaves  the  money  has  honestly  earned  it, 
he  has  already  given  society  a  service  of  equivalent 
value  and,  therefore,  has  a  right  to  distribute  it. 
And  money  received  by  inheritance  is  either  pay 
ment  for  service  already  rendered,  or  payment  in 
advance  for  service  to  be  rendered.  No  right- 
minded  person  will  accept  money,  even  by  inherit 
ance,  without  recognizing  the  obligation  it  imposes 
to  render  a  service  in  return.  This  service  is  not 


THE  PRICE  OF  A  SOUL  341 

always  rendered  to  the  one  from  whom  this  money 
is  received,  but  often  to  society  in  general.  In 
faci,  most  of  the  blessings  which  we  receive  come 
to  us  in  such  a  way  that  we  cannot  distinguish 
the  donors  and  must  make  our  return  to  the  whole 
public. 

But  I  need  not  dwell  upon  this,  because  in  this 
country  more  than  anywhere  else  in  the  world  we 
appreciate  the  dignity  of  labor  and  understand  that 
it  is  honorable  to  serve.  And  yet  there  is  room  for 
improvement,  for  all  over  our  land  there  are,  scat 
tered  here  and  there,  young  men  and  young  women 
— and  even  parents — who  still  think  that  it  is  more 
respectable  for  a  young  man  to  spend  in  idleness 
the  money  some  one  else  has  earned  than  to  be  him 
self  a  producer  of  wealth.  And  as  long  as  this  sen 
timent  is  to  be  found  anywhere  there  is  educational 
work  to  be  done,  for  public  opinion  will  never  be 
what  it  ought  to  be  until  it  puts  the  badge  of  dis 
grace  upon  the  idler,  no  matter  how  rich  he  may 
be,  rather  than  upon  the  man  who  with  brain  or 
muscle  contributes  to  the  Nation's  wealth,  the  Na 
tion's  strength  and  the  Nation's  progress.  But,  as 
I  said,  the  inheritance  is  an  apparent,  not  an  actual, 
exception,  and  we  will  return  to  the  original  propo 
sition — that  one 's  earnings  must  be  measured  by  the 
service  rendered.  This  is  so  important  a  proposi 
tion  that  I  beg  leave  to  dwell  upon  it  a  moment 
longer,  to  ask  whether  it  is  possible  to  fix  in  dollars 
and  cents  a  maximum  limit  to  the  amount  one  can 
earn  in  a  lifetime. 

Let  us  begin  with  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
If  we  estimate  a  working  life  at  thirty-three  years— 


342  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

and  I  think  this  is  a  fair  estimate — a  man  must  earn 
a  little  more  than  three  thousand  dollars  per  year 
for  thirty-three  years  to  earn  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  in  a  lifetime.  I  take  it  for  granted  that  no 
one  will  deny  that  it  is  possible  for  one  to  earn 
this  sum  by  rendering  a  service  equal  to  it  in  value. 
What  shall  we  say  of  a  million  dollars?  Can  a 
man  earn  that  much?  To  do  so  he  must  earn  a 
little  more  than  thirty  thousand  dollars  a  year  for 
thirty-three  years.  Is  it  possible  for  one  to  render 
so  large  a  service  ?  I  believe  that  it  is.  Well,  what 
shall  we  say  of  ten  millions?  To  earn  that  much 
one  must  earn  on  an  average  a  little  more  than  three 
hundred  thousand  a  year  for  thirty-three  years.  Is 
it  possible  for  one  to  render  a  service  so  large  as 
to  earn  so  vast  a  sum?  At  the  risk  of  shocking 
some  of  my  radical  friends  I  am  going  to  affirm  that 
it  is  possible.  But  can  one  earn  a  hundred  million  ? 
Yes,  I  believe  that  it  is  even  possible  to  serve  so 
ciety  to  such  an  extent  as  to  earn  a  hundred  mil 
lion  in  the  span  of  a  human  life,  or  an  average  of 
three  million  a  year  for  thirty-three  years.  We 
have  one  man  in  this  country  who  is  said  to  be 
worth  five  hundred  million.  To  earn  five  hundred 
million  one  must  earn  on  an  average  fifteen  million 
a  year  for  thirty-three  years.  Is  this  within  the 
range  of  human  possibility?  I  believe  that  it  is. 
Now,  I  have  gone  as  high  as  any  one  has  yet  gone 
in  collecting,  but  if  there  is  any  young  man  with 
an  ambition  to  render  a  larger  service  to  the  world, 
I  will  raise  it  another  notch,  if  necessary,  to  en 
courage  him.  So  almost  limitless  are  the  possibili 
ties  of  service  in  this  age  that  I  am  not  willing  to 


THE  PRICE  OF  A  SOUL  343 

fix  v.  maximum  to  the  sum  a  man  can  honestly  and 

legitimately  earn. 

Not  only  do  I  believe  that  a  man  can  earn 
five  hundred  million,  but  I  believe  that  men 
have  earned  it.  I  believe  that  Thomas  Jefferson 
earned  more  than  five  hundred  millions.  The 
service  that  he  rendered  to  the  world  was  of  such 
great  value  that  had  he  collected  for  it  five  hun 
dred  millions  of  dollars,  he  would  not  have  been 
overpaid.  I  believe  that  Abraham  Lincoln  earned 
more  than  five  hundred  millions,  and  I  could  go 
back  through  history  and  give  you  the  name  of 
man  after  man  who  rendered  a  service  so  large 
as  to  entitle  him  to  collect  more  than  five  hundred 
million  from  society,  but  if  I  presented  a  list  con 
taining  the  name  of  every  man,  who,  since  time 
began,  earned  such  an  enormous  sum,  one  thing 
would  be  true  of  all  of  them,  namely:  that  in  not 
a  single  case  did  the  man  collect  the  full  amount. 
The  men  who  have  earned  five  million  dollars  have 
been  so  busy  earning  it  that  they  have  not  had  time 
to  collect  it;  and  the  men  who  have  collected  five' 
hundred  million  have  been  so  busy  collecting  it  that 
they  have  not  had  time  to  earn  it. 

Jefferson  did  not  collect  all  he  earned ;  in  fact,  he 
began  public  life  well  to  do  for  a  man  of  that  period, 
and  died  poor — impoverished  by  visits  of  those  who 
called  to  tell  him  how  much  they  loved  him  and  how 
much  they  appreciated  his  work.  Lincoln  did  not 
collect  the  full  amount ;  neither  Jefferson  nor  Lin 
coln  would  have  cared  to  collect  five  hundred  mil 
lion.  What  would  either  one  have  done  with  such 
a  sum?  Or,  what  is  more  important,  what  would 


344  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

five  hundred  millions  of  dollars  have  done  with 
Jefferson  or  Lincoln? 

In  that  wonderful  parable  of  the  sower,  Christ 
speaks  of  the  seeds  that  fell  and  of  the  thorns  that 
sprang  up  and  choked  them,  and  He  himself  ex 
plained  what  he  meant  by  this  illustration,  namely : 
That  the  cares  of  this  world  and  the  deceitfulness 
of  riches  choke  the  truth.  If  the  great  benefactors 
of  the  race  had  been  burdened  with  the  care  of  big 
fortunes,  they  could  not  have  devoted  themselves 
to  the  nobler  things  that  gave  them  a  place  in  the 
affection  of  their  people  and  in  history. 

It  seems,  therefore,  that  while  one  cannot  right 
fully  collect  more  than  he  honestly  earns,  he  may 
earn  more  than  it  would  be  wise  for  him  to  collect. 
And  that  brings  us  to  the  next  question :  How  much 
should  one  desire  to  collect  from  society  ?  I  answer, 
that  no  matter  how  large  a  service  he  may  render 
or  how  much  he  may  earn,  one  should  not  desire  to 
collect  more  than  he  can  wisely  spend. 

And  how  much  can  one  wisely  spend?  Not  as 
much  as  you  might  think,  and  not  nearly  as  much 
as  some  have  tried  to  spend.  No  matter  how  hon 
estly  money  may  be  acquired,  one  is  not  free  to 
spend  it  at  will.  We  are  hedged  about  by  certain 
restrictions  that  we  can  neither  remove  nor  ignore. 
God  has  written  certain  laws  in  our  nature — laws 
that  no  legislature  can  repeal — laws  that  no  court 
can  declare  unconstitutional,  and  these  laws  limit 
us  in  our  expenditures. 

Let  us  consider  some  of  the  things  for  which  we 
can  properly  spend  money.  We  need  food — we  all 
&eed  food,  and  we  need  about  the  same  amount ;  not 


THE  PRICE  OF  A  SOUL  345 

exactly,  but  the  difference  in  quantity  is  not  great. 
The  range  in  expenditure  is  greater  than  the  range 
in  quantity,  for  expenditure  covers  kind  and  quality 
as  well  as  quantity.  But  there  is  a  limit  even  to  ex 
penditure.  If  a  man  eats  too  much  he  suffers  for 
it.  If  he  squanders  his  money  on  high-priced  foods, 
he  wears  his  stomach  out.  There  is  an  old  saying 
which  we  have  all  heard,  that  "The  poor  man  is 
looking  for  food  for  his  stomach,  while  the  rich  man 
is  going  from  one  watering  place  to  another  looking 
for  a  stomach  for  his  food."  This  is  only  a  witty 
way  of  expressing  the  sober  truth,  namely,  that  one 
is  limited  in  the  amount  of  money  he  can  wisely 
spend  for  food. 

We  need  clothing — we  all  need  clothing,  and  we 
need  the  same  amount.  The  difference  in  quantity 
is  not  great.  The  range  in  expenditure  fcr  cloth 
ing  is  greater  than  the  range  in  quantity,  because 
expenditure  covers  style  and  variety  as  well  as 
quantity,  but  there  is  a  limit  to  the  amount  of 
money  one  can  wisely  spend  for  clothing.  If  a  man 
has  so  much  clothing  that  it  takes  all  of  his  time 
to  change  his  clothes,  he  has  more  than  he  needs 
and  more  than  he  can  wisely  spend  money  for. 

We  need  homes — we  all  need  shelter  and  we  need 
about  the  same  amount.  In  fact,  God  was  very 
democratic  in  the  distribution  of  our  needs,  for  he 
so  created  us  that  our  needs  are  about  the  same. 
The  range  of  expenditure  for  homes  is  probably 
wider  than  in  the  case  of  either  food  or  clothing. 
We  are  interested  in  the  home.  I  never  pass  a  little 
house  where  two  young  people  are  starting  out  in 
life  without  feeling  a  sympathetic  interest  in  that 

II  23 


346  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

home ;  I  never  pass  a  house  where  a  room  is  being 
added  without  feeling  interested,  for  I  know  the 
occupants  have  planned  it,  and  looked  forward  to  it 
and  waited  for  it ;  I  like  to  see  a  little  house  moved 
back  and  a  larger  house  built,  for  I  know  it  is  the 
fulfillment  of  a  dream.  I  have  had  some  of  these 
dreams  myself,  and  I  know  how  they  lead  us  on 
and  inspire  us  to  larger  effort  and  greater  endeavor, 
and  yet  there  is  a  limit  to  the  amount  one  can 
wisely  spend  even  for  so  good  a  thing  as  a  home. 

If  a  man  gets  too  big  a  house  it  becomes  a  burden 
to  him,  and  some  have  had  this  experience.  Not 
infrequently  a  young  couple  will  start  out  poor 
and  struggle  along  in  a  little  house,  looking  for 
ward  to  the  time  when  they  can  build  a  big  house. 
After  a  while  the  time  arrives  and  they  build  a 
big  house,  larger,  possibly,  than  they  intended  to 
and  it  nearly  always  costs  more  than  they  thought 
they  would,  and  then  they  struggle  along  the  rest 
of  their  lives  looking  back  to  the  time  when  they 
lived  in  a  little  house. 

We  spea&  of  people  being  independently  rich. 
That  is  a  mistake ;  they  are  dependently  rich.  The 
richer  a  man  is  the  more  dependent  he  is — the  more 
people  he  depends  upon  to  help  him  collect  his  in 
come,  and  the  more  people  he  depends  upon  to  help 
him  spend  his  income.  Sometimes  a  couple  will 
start  out  doing  their  own  work — the  wife  doing  the 
work  inside  the  house  and  the  man  outside ;  but  they 
prosper,  and  after  a  while  they  are  able  to  afford 
help.  They  get  a  girl  to  help  the  wife  inside  and  a 
man  to  help  the  husband  outside;  then  they  pros 
per  more — and  they  get  two  girls  to  help  inside 


THE  PRICE  OF  A  SOUL  347 

and  two  men  to  help  outside,  then  three  girls  inside 
and  three  men  outside.  Finally  they  have  so  many 
girls  helping  inside  and  so  many  men  helping  out 
side  that  they  cannot  leave  the  house — they  have  to 
stay  at  home  and  look  after  the  establishment.  And 
this  is  not  a  new  condition.  One  of  the  Latin  poets 
complained  of  "the  cares  that  hover  about  the 
fretted  ceilings  of  the  rich,"  and  it  was  this  condi 
tion  that  inspired  Charles  Wagner  to  write  his  little 
book  entitled  "The  Simple  Life,"  in  which  he  en 
tered  an  eloquent  protest  against  the  materialism 
which  makes  man  the  slave  of  his  possessions  and 
presented  an  earnest  plea  for  the  raising  of  the  spir 
itual  above  the  purely  physical.  I  repeat,  there  is  a 
limit  to  the  amount  a  man  can  wisely  spend  upon  a 
home. 

But  a  man  can  give  his  money  away.  Yes,  and 
no  one  who  has  ever  tried  it  will  deny  that  more 
pleasure  is  to  be  derived  from  the  giving  of  money 
to  a  cause  in  which  one's  heart  is  interested,  than 
can  be  obtained  from  the  expenditure  of  the  same 
amount  in  selfish  indulgence.  But  if  one  is  going 
to  give  largely  he  must  spend  a  great  deal  of  time 
in  investigating  and  in  comparing  the  merits  of  the 
different  enterprises,  and  I  am  persuaded  that  there 
is  a  better  life  than  the  life  led  by  those  who  spend 
nearly  all  the  time  accumulating  beyond  their  needs 
and  then  employ  the  last  few  days  in  giving  it 
away.  What  the  world  needs  is  not  a  few  men 
of  great  wealth,  doling  out  their  money  in  antici 
pation  of  death — what  the  world  needs  is  that  these 
men  should  link  themselves  in  sympathetic  interest 
with  struggling  humanity  and  help  to  solve  the 


348  BKYAN'S  SPEECHES 

problems  of  today,  instead  of  creating  problems  for 
the  next  generation  to  solve. 

But  you  say,  a  man  can  leave  his  money  to  his 
children?  He  can,  if  he  dares.  But  a  large  for 
tune,  in  anticipation,  has  ruined  more  sons  than  it 
has  ever  helped.  If  a  young  man  has  so  much 
money  coming  to  him  that  he  knows  he  will  never 
have  to  work,  the  chances  are  that  it  will  sap  his 
energy,  even  if  it  does  not  undermine  his  character, 
and  leave  him  a  curse  rather  than  a  blessing  to  those 
who  brought  him  into  the  world.  And  it  is  scarcely 
safer  to  leave  the  money  to  a  daughter.  For  if  a 
young  woman  has  a  prospective  inheritance  so  large 
that,  when  a  young  man  calls  upon  her,  she  cannot 
tell  whether  he  is  calling  upon  her  or  her  father,  it 
is  embarrassing — especially  so  if  she  finds  after 
marriage  that  he  married  the  wrong  member  of  the 
family.  And,  I  may  add,  that  the  daughters  of  the 
very  rich  are  usually  hedged  about  by  a  social  en 
vironment  which  prevents  their  making  the  ac 
quaintance  of  the  best  young  men.  The  men  who, 
twenty-five  years  from  now,  will  be  the  leaders  in 
business,  in  society,  in  government,  and  in  the 
Church,  are  not  the  pampered  sons  of  the  rich,  but 
the  young  men  who,  with  good  health  and  good 
habits,  with  high  ideals  and  strong  ambition,  are, 
under  the  spur  of  necessity,  laying  the  foundation 
for  future  achievements,  and  these  young  men  do 
not  have  a  chance  to  become  acquainted  with  the 
daughters  of  the  very  rich.  Even  if  they  did  know 
them  they  might  hesitate  to  enter  upon  the  scale 
of  expenditure  to  which  these  daughters  are  accus 
tomed. 


THE  PRICE  OF  A  SOUL  349 

I  have  spoken  at  length  in  regard  to  these  limita 
tions,  altho  we  all  know  of  them  or  ought  to. 
The  ministers  tell  us  about  these  things  Sunday 
after  Sunday,  or  should,  and  yet  we  find  men  chas 
ing  the  almighty  dollar  until  they  fall  exhausted 
into  the  grave.  A  few  years  ago  I  read  a  sermon 
by  Dr.  Talmage  on  this  subject ;  he  said  a  man  who 
wore  himself  out  getting  money  that  he  did  not 
need  would  finally  drop  dead,  and  that  his  pastor 
would  tell  a  group  of  sorrowing  friends  that,  by  a 
mysterious  dispensation  of  Providence,  the  good 
man  had  been  cut  off  in  his  prime.  Dr.  Talmage 
said  that  Providence  had  nothing  to  do  with  it,  and 
that  the  minister  ought  to  tell  the  truth  about  it 
and  say  that  the  man  had  been  kicked  to  death  by 
the  golden  calf. 

A  few  weeks  ago  I  read  a  story  by  Tolstoy,  and  I 
did  not  notice  until  I  had  completed  it  that  the 
title  of  the  story  was,  ' '  What  shall  it  profit  ? ' '  The 
great  Russian  graphically  presented  the  very 
thought  that  I  have  been  trying  to  impress  upon 
your  minds.  He  told  of  a  Russian  peasant  who 
had  land  hunger — who  added  farm  to  farm  and 
land  to  land,  but  could  never  get  enough.  After  a 
while  he  heard  of  a  place  where  land  was  cheaper 
and  he  sold  his  land  and  went  and  bought  more 
land.  But  he  had  no  more  than  settled  there  until 
he  heard  of  another  place  among  a  half  civilized 
people  where  land  was  cheaper  still.  He  took  a 
servant  and  went  into  this  distant  country  and 
hunted  up  the  head  man  of  the  tribe,  who  offered 
him  all  the  land  he  could  walk  around  in  a  day  for 
a  thousand  rubles — told  him  he  could  put  the 


350  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

money  down  on  any  spot  and  walk  in  any  direction 
as  far  and  as  fast  as  he  would,  and  that  if  he  was 
back  by  sunset  he  could  have  all  the  land  he  could 
encompass  during  the  day.  He  put  the  money 
down  upon  the  ground  and  started  at  sunrise  to  get, 
at  last,  enough  land.  He  started  leisurely,  but  as 
he  looked  upon  the  land  it  looked  so  good  that  he 
hurried  a  little — and  then  he  hurried  more,  and 
then  he  went  faster  still.  Before  he  turned  he  had 
gone  further  in  that  direction  than  he  had  intended, 
but  he  spurred  himself  on  and  started  on  the  second 
side.  Before  he  turned  again  the  sun  had  crossed 
the  meridian  and  he  had  two  sides  yet  to  cover. 
As  the  sun  was  slowly  sinking  in  the  west  he  con 
stantly  accelerated  his  pace,  alarmed  at  last  for  fear 
he  might  have  undertaken  too  much  and  might  lose 
it  all.  He  reached  the  starting  point,  however,  just 
as  the  sun  went  down,  but  he  had  overtaxed  his 
strength  and  fell  dead  upon  the  spot.  Then  his 
servant  dug  a  grave  for  him  and  he  only  needed  six 
feet  of  ground  then,  the  same  that  others  needed — 
and  the  rest  of  the  land  was  of  no  use  to  him.  Thus 
far  Tolstoy  told  the  story  of  many  a  life — not  the 
life  of  the  very  rich  only,  but  the  story  of  every 
life  in  which  the  love  of  money  is  the  controlling 
force  and  in  which  the  desire  for  gain  shrivels  the 
soul  and  leaves  the  life  a  failure  at  last. 

I  desire  to  show  you  how  practical  this  subject 
is.  If  time  permitted  I  could  take  up  every  occupa 
tion,  every  avocation,  every  profession  and  every 
calling,  and  show  you  that  no  matter  which  way 
we  turn — no  matter  what  we  do — we  are  always 
and  everywhere  weighing  the  Soul. 


THE  PRICE  OF  A  SOUL  351 

In  the  brief  time  that  it  is  proper  for  me  to  oc 
cupy,  I  shall  apply  the  thought  to  those  depart 
ments  of  human  activity  in  which  the  sale  of  a  soul 
affects  others  largely  as  well  as  the  individual  who 
makes  the  bargain. 

Take  the  occupation  in  which  I  am  engaged,  jour 
nalism,  It  presents  a  great  field — a  growing  field ; 
in  fact,  there  are  few  fields  so  large.  The  journal 
ist  is  both  a  news  gatherer  and  a  molder  of 
thought.  He  informs  his  readers  as  to  what  is 
going  on,  and  he  points  out  the  relation  between 
cause  and  effect — interprets  current  history.  Pub 
lic  opinion  is  the  controlling  force  in  a  republic, 
and  the  newspaper  gives  to  the  journalist,  beyond 
evsry  one  else,  the  opportunity  to  affect  public 
opinion.  Others  reach  his  readers  through  the 
courtesy  of  the  newspaper,  but  the  owner  of  the 
paper  has  full  access  to  his  own  columns,  and  does 
not  fear  the  blue  pencil.  The  journalist  occupies 
the  position  of  a  watchman  upon  a  tower.  He  is 
often  able  to  see  dangers  which  are  not  observed 
by  the  general  public,  and  because  he  can  see  these 
dangers  he  is  in  a  position  of  greater  responsibility. 
Is  he  discharging  the  duty  which  superior  oppor 
tunity  imposes  upon  him  ?  I  might  mention  a  num 
ber  of  temptations  which  come  to  the  journalist,  but 
I  shall  content  myself  with  a  few.  First,  there  is 
the  temptation  to  conceal  the  name  of  the  real 
owner  of  the  paper.  The  proprietor  of  a  paper 
should  be  known,  but  his  identity  is  not  always 
disclosed.  The  corporate  entity  which  plays  so 
large  a  part  in  the  business  world  has  entered  the 
newspaper  field.  The  names  of  the  stockholders 


352  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

are  not  published  and  we  do  not  always  know  what 
individuality  directs  the  paper's  policy.  Year  by 
year  the  disclosures  are  bringing  to  light  the  fact 
that  the  predatory  interests  are  using  1jhe  news 
papers  and  even  some  magazines  for  the  defense  of 
commercial  iniquity  and  for  the  purpose  of  attack 
ing  those  who  lift  their  voices  against  favoritism 
and  privilege.  A  financial  magnate  interested  in 
the  exploitation  of  the  public  secures  control  of  a 
paper;  he  employs  business  managers,  managing 
editors,  and  a  reportorial  staff.  He  does  not  act 
openly  or  in  the  daylight  but  through  a  group  of 
employes  who  are  the  visible  but  not  the  real  direc 
tors.  The  reporters  are  instructed  to  bring  in  the 
kind  of  news  which  will  advance  the  enterprises 
owned  by  the  man  who  stands  back  of  the  paper, 
and  if  the  news  brought  in  is  not  entirely  satisfac 
tory  it  is  doctored  in  the  office.  The  columns  of 
the  paper  are  filled  with  matter,  written  not  for  the 
purpose  of  presenting  facts  as  they  exist,  but  for  the 
purpose  of  distorting  facts  and  misleading  the  pub 
lic.  The  editorial  writers,  whose  names  are  gener 
ally  unknown  to  the  public,  are  told  what  to  say 
and  what  subjects  to  avoid.  They  are  instructed 
to  extol  the  merits  of  those  who  are  subservient  to 
the  interests  represented  by  the  paper,  and  to  mis 
represent  and  traduce  those  who  dare  to  criticise 
or  oppose  the  plans  of  those  who  hide  behind  the 
paper.  Such  journalists  are  members  of  a  kind  of 
"Blackhand  society";  they  are  assassins,  hiding  in 
ambush  and  striking  in  the  dark;  and  the  worst  of 
it  is  that  the  readers  have  no  way  of  knowing  when 
a  change  takes  place  in  the  ownership  of  such  a 


THE  PRICE  OF  A  SOUL  353 

paper.  Editorial  poison,  like  other  poisons,  can 
be  administered  more  successfully  if  the  victim  is 
in  ignorance  as  to  who  administers  it. 

There  are  degrees  of  culpability  and  some  are 
disposed  to  hold  an  editorial  writer  guiltless  even 
when  they  visit  condemnation  upon  the  secret  di 
rector  of  the  paper's  policy.  I  present  to  you  a  dif 
ferent — and  I  believe  higher — ideal  of  journalism. 
If  we  are  going  to  make  any  progress  in  morals 
we  must  abandon  the  idea  that  morals  are  defined 
by  the  statutes;  we  must  recognize  that  there  is  a 
wide  margin  between  that  which  the  law  prohibits 
and  that  which  an  enlightened  conscience  can  ap 
prove.  We  do  not  legislate  against  the  man  who 
uses  the  printed  page  for  the  purpose  of  deception 
but,  viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  morals,  the 
man  who,  whether  voluntarily  or  under  instruc 
tions,  writes  what  he  knows  to  be  untrue  or  pur 
posely  misleads  his  readers  as  to  the  character  of  a 
proposition  upon  which  they  have  to  act,  is  as 
guilty  of  wrong-doing  as  the  man  who  assists  in 
any  other  swindling  transaction. 

Another  method  employed  to  mislead  the  public 
is  the  publication  of  editorial  matter  supplied  by 
those  who  have  an  interest  to  serve.  This  evil  is 
even  more  common  than  secrecy  as  to  the  ownership 
of  the  paper.  In  the  case  of  the  weekly  papers  and 
the  smaller  dailies,  the  proprietor  is  generally 
known,  and  it  is  understood  that  the  editorial  pages 
represent  his  views.  His  standing  and  character 
give  weight  to  that  which  appears  with  his  endorse 
ment.  A  few  years  ago,  when  the  railroad  rate 
bill  was  before  Congress,  a  number  of  railroads 


354  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

joined  in  an  effort  to  create  a  public  sentiment 
against  the  bill.  Bureaus  were  established  for  the 
dissemination  of  literature,  and  a  number  of  news 
papers  entered  into  contract  to  publish  as  editorial 
matter  the  material  furnished  by  these  bureaus. 
This  can  not  be  defended  in  ethics.  The  purchase- 
of  the  editorial  columns  is  a  crime  against  the  pub 
lic  and  a  disgrace  to  journalism,  and  yet  we  have 
frequent  occasion  to  note  this  degradation  of  the 
newspaper.  A  few  days  ago  Senator  Carter,  of 
Montana,  speaking  in  the  United  States  Senate, 
read  several  printed  slips  which  were  sent  out  by  a 
bankers'  association  to  local  bankers  with  the  re 
quest  that  they  be  inserted  in  the  local  papers, 
suggestion  being  made  that  the  instructions  to  the 
local  bankers  be  removed  before  they  were  handed 
to  the  papers.  The  purpose*  of  the  bankers'  asso 
ciation  was  to  stimulate  opposition  to  the  postal 
savings  bank,  a  policy  endorsed  affirmatively  by  the 
Republican  party  and,  conditionally,  by  the  Demo 
cratic  party,  the  two  platforms  being  supported  at 
the  polls  by  more  than  ninety  per  cent,  of  the 
voters.  The  bankers'  associations  are  opposing  the 
policy,  and,  in  sending  out  its  literature,  they  are 
endeavoring  to  conceal  the  source  of  that  literature 
and  to  make  it  appear  that  the  printed  matter  rep 
resents  the  opinion  of  some  one  in  the  community. 
The  journalist  who  would  fully  perform  his  duty 
must  be  not  only  incorruptible,  but  ever  alert,  for 
those  who  are  trying  to  misuse  the  newspapers  are 
able  to  deceive  "the  very  elect."  Whenever  any 
movement  is  on  foot  for  the  securing  of  legislation 
desired  by  the  predatory  interests,  or  when  restrain- 


THE  PRICE  OF  A  SOUL  355 

ing  legislation  is  threatened,  news  bureaus  are  es 
tablished  at  Washington,  and  these  news  bureaus 
furnish  to  such  papers,  as  will  use  them,  free  re 
ports,  daily  or  weekly  as  the  case  may  be,  from  the 
national  capitol — reports  which  purport  to  give 
general  news,  but  which  in  fact  contain  arguments 
in  support  of  the  schemes  which  the  bureaus  are 
organized  to  advance.  This  ingenious  method  of 
misleading  the  public  is  only  a  part  of  the  general 
plan  which  favor-holding  and  favor-seeking  corpo 
rations  pursue. 

Demosthenes  declared  that  the  man  who  refuses 
a  bribe  conquers  the  man  who  offers  it.  Accord 
ing  to  this,  the  journalist  who  resists  the  many 
temptations  which  come  to  him  to  surrender  his 
ideals  has  the  consciousness  of  winning  a  moral 
victory  as  well  as  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that 
lie  is  rendering  a  real  service  to  his  fellows. 

The  profession  for  which  I  was  trained — the  law 
—presents  another  line  of  temptations.  The  court 
room  is  a  soul's  market  where  many  barter  away 
their  ideals  in  the  hope  of  winning  wealth  or  fame. 
Lawyers  sometimes  boast  of  the  number  of  men 
whose  acquittal  the}'  have  secured  when  they  knew 
them  to  be  guilty,  and  of  advantages  won  which 
they  knew  their  clients  did  not  deserve.  I  do  not 
understand  how  a  lawyer  can  so  boast,  for  he  is  an 
officer  of  the  court  and,  as  such,  is  sworn  to  assist 
in  the  administration  of  justice.  When  a  lawyer 
has  helped  his  client  to  obtain  all  that  his  client  is 
entitled  to,  he  has  done  his  full  duty  as  a  lawyer, 
and  if  he  goes  beyond  this,  he  goes  at  his  own  peril. 
Show  me  a  lawyer  who  has  spent  a  lifetime  trying 


356  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

to  obscure  the  line  between  right  and  wrong,  try 
ing  to  prove  that  to  be  just  which  he  knew  to  be 
unjust,  and  I  will  show  you  a  man  who  has  grown 
weaker  in  character  year  by  year,  and  whose  advice, 
at  last,  will  be  of  no  value  to  his  clients,  for  he  will 
have  lost  the  power  to  discern  between  right  and 
wrong.  Show  me,  on  the  other  hand,  a  lawyer  who 
has  spent  a  lifetime  in  the  search  for  truth,  deter 
mined  to  follow  where  it  leads,  and  I  will  show 
you  a  man  who  has  grown  stronger  in  character 
day  by  day  and  whose  advice  constantly  becomes 
more  valuable  to  his  client,  because  the  power  to 
discern  the  truth  increases  with  the  honest  search 
for  it. 

Not  only  in  the  court  room,  but  in  the  consulta 
tion  chamber  the  lawyer  sometimes  yields  to  the 
temptation  to  turn  his  talents  to  a  sordid  use.  The 
schemes  of  spoliation  that  defy  the  officers  of  the 
law  are,  for  the  most  part,  inaugurated  and  di 
rected  by  legal  minds.  President  Roosevelt,  speak« 
ing  at  Harvard  a  few  years  ago,  complained  that 
the  graduates  of  that  great  university  frequently 
furnished  the  brains  for  conspiracies  against  the 
public  welfare.  I  was  speaking  on  this  very  sub 
ject  in  one  of  the  great  cities  of  the  country  some 
months  ago,  and  at  the  close  of  the  address,  a  judge 
commended  my  criticism  and  declared  that  most  of 
the  lawyers  practicing  in  his  court  were  constantly 
selling  their  souls.  The  lawyer's  position  is  scarcely 
less  responsible  than  the  position  of  the  journalist, 
and  if  the  journalists  and  lawyers  of  the  country 
could  be  brought  to  abstain  from  the  practices  by 
which  the  general  public  is  overreached,  it  would 


THE  PRICE  OF  A  SOUL  357 

be  an  easy  matter  to  secure  the  remedial  legislation 
necessary  to  protect  the  producing  masses  from  the 
constant  spoliation  to  which  they  are  now  subjected 
by  the  privileged  classes. 

If  a  man  who  is  planning  a  train-robbery  takes 
another  along  to  hold  a  horse  at  a  convenient  dis 
tance,  we  say  that  the  man  who  holds  the  horse  is 
equally  guilty  with  the  man  who  robs  the  train  ; 
and  the  time  will  come  when  public  opinion  will 
hold  as  equally  guilty  with  the  plunderers  of  society 
the  lawyers  and  journalists  who  assist  the  plun 
derers  to  escape. 

Most  of  you,  I  presume,  will  engage  in  what  is 
known  as  business,  although  I  confess  that  I  have 
no  sympathy  with  the  narrow  definition  which  is 
often  given  to  the  word  business.  Every  person 
who  contributes  by  brain  or  muscle  to  the  nation's 
wealth  and  greatness  is  engaged  in  business  and  is 
a  necessary  factor  in  the  world's  progress. 

Commerce  is  an  increasing  factor  in  the  business 
world.  It  includes  both  exchange  and  transporta 
tion  and  stands  next  in  importance  to  production. 
Production  comes  first,  but  production  could  only 
be  carried  on  on  a  limited  scale  without  the  ex 
change  of  merchandise.  To  desire  to  gain  an  hon 
orable  distinction  in  this  department  of  labor  is  a 
worthy  ambition.  lie  who  improves  the  instru 
ments  of  trade  brings  purchaser  and  consumer 
nearer  together,  and  thus  facilitates  exchange,  may 
count  himself  a  real  benefactor.  But  even  here 
there  are  temptations  to  be  avoided.  Let  me  sug 
gest  three.  First,  speculation.  I  do  not  mean  to 
say  that  the  element  of  chance  can  be  entirely  elim- 


358  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

inated  from  any  kind  of  business.  The  farmer 
take  his  chances  upon  the  seasons;  the  merchant 
takes  his  chance  upon  the  market;  the  railroad 
owner  takes  his  chances  upon  both  the  season  and 
the  market ;  and  we  all  take  our  chances  upon  sick 
ness  and  death.  Uncertainty  enters  into  every  hu 
man  calculation,  but  a  distinction  can  be  drawn 
between  those  uncertainties  which  are  unavoidable 
and  those  uncertainties  Avhich  are  of  the  very  es 
sence  of  the  transaction.  There  is  a  legitimate 
work  for  the  stock  exchange  and  for  the  chamber 
of  commerce,  but  there  is  an  illegitimate  and  vicious 
speculation  on  the  stock  exchange  and  the  produce 
market  which  has  lured  many  business  men  to  their 
fall.  The  ordinary  methods  of  accumulation  are 
necessarily  slow  when  competition  is  left  free  to 
regulate  profits,  while  the  gambler  is  spurred  on  by 
the  hope  of  quickly  realizing  a  large  profit  upon  a 
small  investment.  It  is  not  strange  that  many  are 
charmed  by  the  siren  song  of  the  stock  ticker,  but 
it  means  ruin,  and  to  the  extent  that  a  man  yields 
.jo  the  temptation  his  morals  are  weakened.  There 
is  but  one  sure  measure  of  rewards,  viz.,  one  that 
compensates  each  in  proportion  as  he  serves  society. 
The  securing  of  something  for  nothing  by  a  lucky 
turn  of  a  card,  or  by  a  sudden  change  in  the  mar 
ket  paralyzes  one's  purpose,  and,  in  time,  renders 
him  unfit  for  patient  arid  persistent  effort.  I  might 
emphasize  the  fact  that  gambling  in  stocks  and 
farm  products  often  leads  to  embezzlement,  lar 
ceny  and  suicide,  for  these  are  the  fruits  of  specu 
lation  when  it  becomes  a  disease.  But  I  prefer  to 
put  my  argument  against  gambling  upon  the 


THE  PRICE  OF  A  SOUL  359 

broader  ground  that  it  is,  in  all  cases,  a  demoraliz 
ing  influence,  whether  the  gambler  wins  or  loses. 

I  might  dwell  upon  the  evil  effects  of  speculation 
upon  innocent  parties  whose  property  is  juggled 
up  or  juggled  down  by  the  manipulations  of  the 
market,  but  I  would  appeal,  not  only  to  the  inno 
cent  outsider,  but  to  those  who  may  be  tempted  by 
the  profits  promised  to  the  inside  ring.  I  would 
suggest,  however,  that  those  who  by  cornering  the 
market  suspend  the  law  of  supply  and  demand, 
add  crime  to  vice  and  defraud  those  who  are  in 
duced  to  invest  in  a  "chance"  which  has  no  actual 
existence. 

Monopoly  is  the  second  commercial  (^emptatioj 
Monopolies  have  been  attempted  ever  since  trading 
began,  and  they  are  more  common  today  than  ever 
before  because  more  money  can  be  made  out  of 
them.  Many  well-meaning  business  men  permit 
themselves  to  be  drawn  into  practises  which  are 
not  only  indefensible  in  the  realm  of  conscience,  but 
which  violate  the  statutes.  The  officers  of  the  law 
are  constantly  engaged  in  an  effort  to  prevent  the 
monopolizing  of  trade. 

It  is  strange  that  anyone  should  attempt  to  de 
fend  a  private  monopoly,  for  its  plan  and  operation 
can  be  easily  understood  by  any  one  who  knows 
either  human  nature  or  history.  No  judge  would 
be  permitted  to  preside  in  his  own  case ;  no  juror 
would  be  allowed  to  serve  in  a  suit  to  which  he  was 
a  party,  and  yet  the  head  of  a  monopoly  arbitrarily 
decides  every  day  questions  where  his  interests  are 
on  one  side  and  public  interests  on  the  other.  Can 
he  be  trusted  to  decide  impartially  and  to  exact  only 


360  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

a  reasonable  profit  ?  It  is  absurd  to  expect  him  to 
do  justice  to  those  with  whom  he  deals.  The  stu 
dent  of  history  knows  that  the  monopolist  has  al 
ways  been  an  outlaw.  Three  centuries  ago,  under 
Queen  Elizabeth,  the  House  of  Commons  protested 
against  the  monopolies  which  she  had  authorized, 
and  I  found,  when  in  the  Holy  Land,  that  a  very 
complete  monopoly  existed  there  some  seventeen 
hundred  years  ago.  Josephus  tells  how  John  of 
Gishala  secured  a  monopoly  in  olive  oil  and  charged 
ten  times  as  much  for  the  oil  as  he  paid  for  it. 
For  the  benefit  of  those  who  think  that  all  monopo 
lies  are  traceable  to  the  rebate,  I  venture  to  sug 
gest  that  the  oil  trust  of  Palestine  was  successfully 
operated  before  railroads  existed.  But  even  though 
John  had  nothing  better  than  a  fast  freight  line 
of  donkeys  and  distributed  the  oil  in  goat  skins,  lie 
showed  as  correct  an  understanding  of  the  possi 
bilities  of  monopoly  as  any  trust  magnate  has  today, 
and  I  have  wondered  whether  our  John  secured  his 
idea  of  an  oil  trust  from  John  of  Gishala. 

We  need  laws  making  the  private  monopoly  im 
possible,  but  we  must  have  back  of  these  laws  a 
moral  sentiment  which  will  condemn  the  club 
wielded  by  the  monopolist,  as  moral  sentiment  now 
condemns  the  hjgnwayrfran  's  bludgeon. 

The  third /femptation/ to  which  the  commercial 
man  is  subje*c^^-is-tfe^corruption  of  politics.  Just 
in  proportion  as  a  corporation  secures  a  monopoly 
of  the  business  in  which  it  is  engaged,  in  that  pro 
portion  the  necessity  for  government  regulation 
increases,  and  I  may  add,  the  difficulty  of  securing 
regulation  increases  in  proportion  to  the  necessity 


THE  PRICE  OF  A  SOUL  361 

for  it.  Municipal  corruption  has  become  a  byword, 
and  the  lobbyist  has  made  his  evil  presence  felt  at 
the  national  and  State  capitals.  Bribery  is  becom 
ing  a  fine  art,  and  neither  the  voter  nor  his  repre 
sentative  is  spared.  The  one  lesson  that  must  be 
taught  is  that  the  man  who  gives  a  bribe  is  as 
wicked  as  the  man  who  accepts  it — I  am  not  sure 
but  that  he  is  more  wicked,  for  the  necessities  of 
the  man  who  accepts  the  bribe — if  need  can  palliate 
such  an  offense — are  usually  greater  than  those  of 
the  man  who  offers  it.  I  appeal  to  you  to  assist, 
in  every  possible  way,  in  the  creation  of  a  public 
sentiment  which  will  ostracise  the  business  man 
who  purchases  legislation  with  the  profits  derived 
from  privileges  already  secured,  or  who  advances 
corruption  money  in  anticipation  of  the  profits 
which  governmental  favors  promise. 

In  the  counting  room  as  well  as  in  the  editor's 
library  and  in  the  lawyer's  office  one  hears  the 
heart-searching  question:  ''What  shall  it  profit  a 
man  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his 
own  soul?" — and  happiness,  honor  and  usefulness 
all  hang  upon  the  answer. 

I  would  not  be  forgiven  if  I  failed  to  apply  my 
theme  to  the  work  of  the  instructor.     The  purpose" 
of  education  is  not  merely  to  develop  the  mind ;  it 
is  to  prepare  men  and  wromen  for  society's  wrork 
and  for  citizenship.  The  ideals  of  the  teacher,  there 
fore,  are  of  the  first  importance.    The  pupil  is  apt 
to  be  as  much  influenced  by  what  his  teacher  is  as 
by  what  the  teacher  says  or  does.   The  measure  of  a 
school  can  not  be  gathered  from  an  inspection  of 
the    examination   papers;    the    conception    of   life 

II  2-1 


v/ 


362  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

which  the  graduate  carries  away  must  be  counted 
in  estimating  the  benefits  conferred.  The  pecuniary 
rewards  of  the  teacher  are  usually  small  when 
compared  with  the  rewards  of  business.  This 
may  be  due  in  part  to  our  failure  to  properly 
appreciate  the  work  which  the  teacher  does,  but 
it  may  be  partially  accounted  for  by  the  fact 
that  the  teacher  derives  from  his  work  a  satisfac 
tion  greater  than  that  obtained  from  most  other 
employments. 

The  teacher  comes  into  contact  with  the  life  of 
the  student  and,  as  our  greatest  joy  is  derived  from 
the  consciousness  of  having  benefited  others,  the 
teacher  rightly  counts  as  a  part  of  his  compensa 
tion  the  continuing  pleasure  to  be  found  in  the 
knowledge  that  he  is  projecting  his  influence 
through  future  generations.  The  heart  plays  as 
large  a  part  as  the  head  in  the  teacher's  work,  be 
cause  the  heart  is  an  important  factor  in  every 
life  and  in  the  shaping  of  the  destiny  of  the  race.  I 
fear  the  plutocracy  of  wealth ;  I  respect  the  aristoc 
racy  of  learning;  but  I  thank  God  for  the  democ 
racy  of  the  heart.  It  is  upon  the  heart-level  that 
we  meet ;  it  is  by  the  characteristics  of  the  heart  that 
we  best  know  and  best  remember  each  other.  As 
tronomers  tell  us  the  distance  of  each  star  from  the 
earth,  but  no  mathematician  can  calculate  the  influ 
ence  which  a  noble  teacher  may  exert  upon  pos 
terity.  And  yet  even  the  teacher  may  fall  from 
his  high  estate,  and,  forgetting  his  immeasurable 
responsibility,  yield  to  the  temptation  to  estimate 
his  work  by  its  pecuniary  reward. 

Let  me  turn  for  a  moment  from  the  profession 


THE  PRICE  OP  A  SOUL  363 

and  the  occupation  to  the  calling.  I  am  sure  I 
shall  not  be  accused  of  departing  from  the  truth 
when  I  say  that  even  those  who  minister  to  our 
spiritual  wants  and,  as  our  religious  leaders,  help 
to  fix  our  standards  of  morality,  sometimes  prove 
unfaithful  to  their  trust.  They  are  human,  and  the 
frailities  of  man  obscure  the  light  which  shines 
from  within,  even  when  that  light  is  a  reflection 
from  the  throne  of  God.  The  ministers  have  for 
years  considered  the  liquor  question  a  moral  ques 
tion,  and  I  would  not  chide  them  for  their  activity ; 
but  I  think  too  little  emphasis  has  been  placed  upon 
the  importance  of  total  abstinence.  Whether  a 
Christian  can  drink  in  moderation  without  harm 
to  himself  is  purely  a  physical  question,  and  some 
Christians  have  overestimated  their  ability  to  con 
fine  their  drinking  within  safe  limits;  but  there  is 
a  moral  question  which  is  much  larger,  namely,  can 
a  Christian  afford  to  indulge  the  appetite  for  drink 
if  his  example  leads  weaker  men  to  ruin? 

The  great  apostle  said  that,  if  eating  meat  made 
his  brother  to  offend,  he  would  eat  no  meat.  It  is  a 
part  of  the  minister's  work  to  cultivate  such  a  love 
of  brother  in  the  Christian  heart  that  the  Christian 
will  paraphrase  the  language  of  the  apostle  and 
say:  If  drinking  maketh  my  brother  to  offend,  I 
shall  not  drink. 

Then,  too,  we  have  not  sufficiently  considered 
man's  social  needs.  Man  must  have  communion 
with  his  friends,  and  we  have  left  the  saloon  to 
furnish  about  the  only  meeting  place  in  the  cities 
and  towns.  Rooms  should  be  opened  where  men 
can  meet  with  wholesome  surroundings  and  free 


364  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

from  the  temptations  that  are  ever  present  where 
men  meet  in  a  room  provided  by  one  who  has  a 
pecuniary  interest  in  cultivating  an  appetite  for 
drink. 

The  ministers  must  deal  with  all  questions  that 
involve  morals,  and  every  great  question  is  in  its 
final  analysis  a  question  of  ethics. 

We  need  more  Elijahs  in  the  pulpit  today — more 
men  who  will  dare  to  upbraid  an  Ahab  and  defy 
a  Jezebel.  It  is  possible,  aye,  probable,  that  even 
now,  as  of  old,  persecution  would  follow  such  bold 
ness  of  speech,  but  he  who  consecrates  himself  to 
religion  must  smite  evil  wherever  he  finds  it,  altho 
in  smiting  it  he  may  risk  his  salary  and  his  social 
position.  It  is  easy  enough  to  denounce  the  petty 
thief  and  the  back-alley  gambler ;  it  is  easy  enough 
to  condemn  the  friendless  rogue  and  the  penniless 
wrong-doer,  but  what  about  the  rich  tax-dodger,  the 
big  law-breaker  and  the  corrupter  of  government? 
The  soul  that  is  warmed  by  divine  fire  will  be  satis 
fied  with  nothing  less  than  the  complete  perform 
ance  of  duty;  it  must  cry  aloud  and  spare  not,  to 
the  end  that  the  creed  of  the  Christ  may  be  ex 
emplified  in  the  life  of  the  nation. 

Not  only  does  the  soul  question  present  itself  to 
individuals,  but  it  presents  itself  to  groups  of  indi 
viduals  as  well. 

Let  us  consider  the  party.  A  political  party  can 
not  be  better  than  its  ideal;  in  fact,  it  is  good 
in  proportion  as  its  ideal  is  worthy,  and  its  place 
in  history  is  determined  by  its  adherence  to  a  high 
purpose.  The  party  is  made  for  its  members,  not 
the  members  for  the  party;  and  a  party  is  useful, 


THE  PRICE  OP  A  SOUL  365 


therefore,  only  as  it  is  a  means  through  wliich  one 
may  protect  his  rights,  guard  his  interests  and 
promote  the  public  welfare.  The  best  service  that 
a  man  can  render  his  party  is  to  raise  its  ideals. 
He  basely  betrays  his  party's  hopes  and  is  recreant 
to  his  duty  to  his  party  associates  who  seeks  to 
barter  away  a  noble  party  purpose  for  temporary 
advantages  or  for  the  spoils  of  office.  It  would  be 
a  reflection  upon  the  intelligence  and  patriotism 
of  the  people  to  assert,  or  even  to  assume,  that 
lasting  benefit  could  be  secured  for  a  party  by  the 
lowering  of  its  standards.  He  serves  his  party  most 
loyally  who  serves  his  country  most  faithfully;  it 
is  a  fatal  error  to  suppose  that  a  party  can  be 
permanently  benefited  by  a  betrayal  of  the  nation 's 
interests. 

In  every  act  of  party  life  and  party  strife  we 
weigh  the  soul.  That  the  people  have  a  right  to  have 
what  they  want  is  a  fundamental  principle  in  free  / 
government.  Corruption  in  government  comes  from 
the  attempt  to  substitute  the  will  of  a  minority  for! 
the  will  of  the  majority.  Every  measure  which 
comes  up  for  consideration  involves  justice  and  in 
justice — right  and  wrong — and  is,  therefore,  a  ques 
tion  of  conscience.  As  justice  is  the  basis  of  a 
nation's  strength  and  gives  it  hope  of  perpetuity, 
and,  as  the  seeds  of  decay  are  sown  whenever  in 
justice  enters  into  government,  patriotism  as  well 
as  conscience  leads  us  to  analyze  every  public  ques 
tion,  ascertain  the  moral  principle  involved  and 
then  cast  our  influence,  whether  it  be  great  or 
small,  on  the  side  of  justice. 

The   patriot   must   desire   the   triumph   of   that 


366  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

which  is  right  above  the  triumph  of  that  which  he 
may  think  to  be  right  if  he  is,  in  fact,  mistaken; 
and  so  the  partizan,  if  he  be  an  intelligent  partizan, 
must  be  prepared  to  rejoice  in  his  party's  defeat 
if  by  that  defeat  his  country  is  the  gainer.  One  can 
afford  to  be  in  a  minority,  but  he  cannot  afford  to 
be  wrong;  if  he  is  in  a  minority  and  right,  he  will 
some  day  be  in  the  majority. 

The  activities  of  politics  center  about  the  election 
of  candidates  to  office,  and  the  official,  under  our 
system,  represents  both  the  party  to  which  he  be 
longs  and  the  whole  body  of  his  constituency.  He 
has  two  temptations  to  withstand,  first,  the  tempta 
tion  to  substitute  his  own  judgment  for  the  judg 
ment  of  his  constituents,  and  second,  the  tempta 
tion  to  put  his  pecuniary  interests  above  the  inter 
ests  of  those  for  whom  he  acts.  According  to  the 
aristocratic  idea,  the  representative  thinks  for  his 
constituents ;  according  to  the  Democratic  idea,  the 
representative  thinks  with  his  constituents.  A 
representative  has  no  right  to  defeat  the  wishes  of 
those  who  elect  him,  if  he  knows  their  wishes. 

But  a  representative  is  not  liable  to  knowingly 
misrepresent  his  constituents  unless  he  has  pecuni 
ary  interests  adverse  to  theirs.  This  is  the  tempta 
tion  to  be  resisted — this  is  the  sin  to  be  avoided. 
The  official  who  uses  his  position  to  secure  a  pecuni 
ary  advantage  at  the  expense  of  those  for  whom 
he  acts  is  an  embezzler  of  power — and  an  em 
bezzler  of  power  is  as  guilty  of  moral  turpitude  as 
the  embezzler  of  money.  There  is  no  better  motto 
for  the  public  official  than  that  given  by  Solomon : 
"A  good  name  is  rather  to  be  chosen  than  great 


THE  PRICE  OF  A  SOUL  367 

riches,  and  loving  favor  rather  than  silver  and 
gold."  And  there  is  no  better  rule  for  the  public 
official  to  follow  than  this — to  do  nothing  that  he 
would  not  be  willing  to  have  printed  in  the  news 
paper  next  day. 

One  who  exercises  authority  conferred  upon  him 
by  the  suffrages  of  his  fellows  ought  to  be  fortified 
in  his  integrity  by  the  consciousness  of  the  fact  that 
a  betrayal  of  his  trust  is  hurtful  to  the  party  which 
honors  him  and  unjust  to  the  people  whom  he 
serves,  as  well  as  injurious  to  himself.  Nothing 
that  he  can  gain,  not  even  the  whole  world,  can 
compensate  him  for  the  loss  that  he  suffers  in  the 
surrender  of  a  high  ideal  of  public  duty. 

Permit  me,  in  conclusion,  to  say  that  the  nation, 
as  well  as  the  individual  and  the  party,  must  be 
measured  by  its  purpose,  its  ideals  and  its  service. 
"Let  him  who  would  be  chief est  among  you,  be  the 
servant  of  all,"  was  intended  for  nations  as  well 
as  for  citizens.  Our  nation  is  the  greatest  in  the 
world  and  the  greatest  of  all  time,  because  it  is 
rendering  a  larger  service  than  any  other  nation 
is  rendering  or  has  rendered.  It  is  giving  the  world 
ideals  in  education,  in  social  life,  in  government 
and  in  religion.  It  is  the  teacher  of  nations,  it  is 
the  world 's  torch-bearer.  Here  the  people  are  more 
free  than  elsewhere  to  "try  all  things  and  hold 
fast  that  which  is  good ; "  "to  know  the  truth ' '  and 
to  find  freedom  in  that  knowledge.  No  material 
considerations  should  blind  us  to  our  nation's  mis 
sion,  or  turn  us  aside  from  the  accompli shment  of 
the  great  work  which  has  been  reserved  for  us. 
Our  fields  bring  forth  abundantly  and  the  products 


368  BRYAN'S   SPEECHES 

of  our  farms  furnish  food  for  many  in  the  Old 
World.  Our  mills  and  looms  supply  an  increasing 
export,  but  these  are  not  our  greatest  asset.  Our 
most  fertile  soil  is  to  be  found  in  the  minds  and  the 
hearts  of  our  people,  and  our  most  important  manu 
facturing  plants  are  not  our  factories,  with  their 
smoking  chimneys,  but  our  schools,  our  colleges  and 
our  churches,  which  take  in  a  priceless  raw  mate 
rial  and  turn"  out  the  most  valuable  finished  product 
that  the  world  has  known. 

We  enjoy  by  inheritance,  or  by  choice,  the  bless 
ings  of  American  citizenship ;  let  us  not  be  unmind 
ful  of  the  obligations  which  these  blessings  impose. 
Let  us  not  become  so  occupied  in  the  struggle  for 
wealth  or  in  the  contest  for  honors  as  to  repudiate 
the  debt  that  we  owe  to  those  who  have  gone  before 
us  and  to  those  who  bear  with  us  the  responsibili 
ties  that  rest  upon  the  present  generation.  Society 
has  claims  upon  us;  our  country  makes  demands 
upon  our  time,  our  thought  and  our  purpose.  We 
cannot  shirk  these  duties  without  disgrace  to  our 
selves  and  injury  to  those  who  come  after  us.  If 
one  is  tempted  to  complain  of  the  burdens  borne  by 
American  citizens,  let  him  compare  them  with  the 
much  larger  burdens  imposed  by  despots  upon  their 
subjects. 

I  challenge  the  doctrine,  now  being  taught,  that 

we  must  enter  into  a  mad  rivalry  with  the  Old 

World  in  the  building  of  battleships — the  doctrine 

that  the  only  way  to  preserve  peace  is  to  get  ready 

yfor  wars  that  ought  never  to  come!     It  is  a  bar- 

^barous,  brutal,  unchristian  doctrine — the  doctriue 

I  of  the  darkness,  not  the  doctrine  of  the  dawn. 


astmolds  the  world  like 


THE  PRICE  OF  A  SOUL  369 

Nation  after  nation,  when  at  the  zenith  of  its 
power,  has  proclaimed  itself  invincible  because  its 
army  could  shake  the  earth  with  its  tread  and  its~7 
ships   could   fill   the   seas,   but   these   nations   are  j 
dead,  and  we  must  build  upon  a  different  founda 
tion  if  we  would  avoid  their  fate. 

Carlyle,  in  the  closing  chapters  of  his  "French 
Revolution"   says  that 
artillery  parks,  ancLat 

snfL  clfly+^afld  t.hprL  he^ 
is  love,  ^£ajrlvj^i&__^iglit»  Love  is  the  greatest  / 
power  in  the  world.  The  nations  that  are  dead 
boasted  that  their  flag  was  feared;  let  it  be  our 
boast  that  our  flag  is  loved.  The  nations  that  are 
dead  boasted  that  people  bowed  before  their  flag, 
let  us  not  be  content  until  our  flag  represents  senti 
ments  so  high  and  holy  that  the  opprest  of  every 
land  will  turn  their  faces  toward  that  flag  and 
thank  God  that  there  is  one  flag  that  stands  for 
self-government  and  for  the  rights  of  man. 

The  enlightened  conscience  of  our  nation  should 
proclaim  as  the  country's  creed  that  "righteousness 
exalteth  a  nation"  and  that  justice  is  a  nation's 
surest  defense.  If  there  ever  was  a  nation  it  is 
ours;  if  there  ever  was  a  time  it  is  now,  to  put 
God's  truth  to  the  test.  With  an  ocean  rolling  on 
either  side  and  a  mountain  range  along  either  coast 
that  all  the  armies  of  the  world  could  never  climb 
we  ought  not  to  be  afraid  to  trust  in  "the  wisdom 
of  doing  right," 

Our  government,  conceived  in  liberty  and  pur-- 
chased  with  blood,  can  be  preserved  only  by  con 
stant  vigilance.    May  we  guard  it  as  our  children's 


370  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

richest  legacy,  for  what  shall  it  profit  our  nation 
if  it  shall  gain  the  whole  world  and  loss  "the  spirit 
that  prizes  liberty  as  the  heritage  of  all  men  in  all 
lands  every  where  ?" 

[NOTE  :•  -This  address  is  not  copyrighted,  and  can  be  re- 
published  by  anyone  desiring  to  do  so.] 


MISCELLANEOUS  SPEECHES 


I 

CHARACTER 

Graduating  oration  an/1  valedictory,  delivered  at  the  com 
mencement  of  Illinois  College,  in  June,  1881. 

IT  is  said  of  the  ermine  that  it  will  suffer  capture 
rather  than  allow  pollution  to  touch  its  glossy 
coat,  but  take  away  that  coat  and  the  animal 
is  worthless. 

We  have  ermines  in  higher  life — those  who  love 
display.  The  desire  to  seem,  rather  than  to  be,  is 
one  of  the  faults  which  our  age,  as  well  as  other 
ages,  must  deplore. 

Appearance  too  often  takes  the  place  of  reality — 
the  stamp  of  the  coin  is  there,  and  the  glitter  of  the 
gold,  but,  after  all,  it  is  but  a  worthless  wash. 
Sham  is  carried  into  every  department  of  life,  and 
we  are  being  corrupted  by  show  and  surface.  We 
are  too  apt  to  judge  people  by  what  they  have, 
rather  than  by  what  they  are;  we  have  too  few 
Hamlets  who  are  bold  enough  to  proclaim,  ' '  I  know 
not  'seems.'  ' 

The  counterfeit,  however,  only  proves  the  value 
of  the  coin,  and,  altho  reputation  may  in  some  de 
gree  be  taking  the  place  of  character,  yet  the  latter 
has  lost  none  of  its  worth,  and,  now,  as  of  old,  is  a 
priceless  gem,  wherever  found.  Its  absence  and 
presence,  alike,  prove  its  value.  Have  you  not 
conversed  with  those  whose  brilliant  wit,  pungent 

(373) 


374  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

sarcasm  and  well-framed  sentences  failed  to  conceal 
a  certain  indescribable  something  which  made  you 
distrust  every  word  they  uttered?     Have  you  not 
listened  to  those  whose  eloquence  dazzled,  whose 
pretended  earnestness  enkindled  in  you  an  enthu 
siasm  equal  to  their  own,  and  yet,  have  you  not  felt 
that  behind  all  this  there  was  lurking  a  monster 
that  repelled  the  admiration  which  their  genius  at 
tracted  ?    Are  there  not  those,  whom  like  the  Greeks 
wre  fear,  even  when  they  are  bringing  gifts?    That 
something  is  want  of  character,  or,  to  speak  more 
truly,  the  possession  of  bad  character,  and  it  shows 
_Jtself  alike  in  nations  and  individuals. 
"  Eschines  was  talented ;  his  oration  against  the 
crowning  of  Demosthenes  was  a  masterly  produc 
tion,  excellently  arranged,   elegantly  written  andi 
effectively  delivered ;  so  extraordinary  was  its  mer 
its,  that,  when  he  afterward,  as  an  exile,  delivered 
•it  before  a  Rhodian  audience,  they  exprest  their 
astonishment  that  it  had  not  won  for  him  his  cause, 
but  it  fell  like  a  chilling  blast  upon  his  hearers  at 
-Athens,  because  he  was  the  "hireling  of  Philip." 
<£-^-—  Napoleon   swept   like   a   destroying   angel   over 
almost  the  entire  eastern  world,  evincing  a  military 
genius  unsurpassed,  skill  marvelous  in  its  perfec 
tion,  and  a  (courage} which  savored  almost  of  rash 
ness,  yet  ever  demonstrated  the  wisdom  of  its  dic 
tates.    For  a  while  he  seemed  to  have  robbed  for 
tune  of  her  se'cret,  and  bewildered  nations  gazed  in 
silence  while  he  turned  the  streams  of  success  ac 
cording  to  his  vacillating  whims. 
•-Altho  endowed  with  a  perception  keen  enough 
V  to  discern  the  hidden  plans  of  opposing  generals,  he 

h 


CHARACTER  375 

could  but  see  one  road  to  immortality — a  path 
which  led  through  battlefields  and  marshes  wet 
with  human  gore :  over  rivers  of  blood  and  streams 
of  tears  that  flowed  from  orphans'  eyes — a  path 
along  whose  length  the  widow's  wail  made  music 
for  his  marching  hosts.  But  he  is  fallen,  and  over 
his  tomb  no  mourner  we^ps.  Talent,  genius,  power, 
these  he  had-f  chSracter,Jhe  had  none. 
^)But  there  are  those  who  have  both  influence 
through  life  and  unending  praises  after  death; 
there  are  those  who  have  by  their  ability  inspired 
the  admiration  of  the  people  and  held  it  by  the 
purity  of  their  character.  It  is  often  remarked 
that  some  men  have  a  name  greater  than  their 
works  will  justify ;  the  secret  lies  in  the  men  them 
selves. 

'.It  was  the  well-known  character  of  Demosthenes, 
not  less  than  his  eloquent  words;  his  deep  convic 
tions,  not  less  than  the  fire  of  his  utterance;  his 
own  patriotism,  not  less  than  his  invectives  against 
the  Macedonian  that  brought  to  the  lips  of  the  re 
animated  Greeks  that  memorable  sentence,  "Let  us 
go  against  Philip/' 

C  Perhaps  we  could  not  find  better  illustrations  of 
the  power  and  worth  of  character  than  are  pre 
sented  in  the  lives  of  two  of  our  own  countrymen — 
names  about  which  cluster  in  most  sacred  nearness 
the  affections  of  the  American  people — honored  dust 
over  which  have  fallen  the  truest  tears  of  sorrow 
ever  shed  by  a  nation  for  its  heroes — the  father  and 
savior  of  their  common  country — the  one,  the  ap 
pointed  guardian  of  its  birth;  the  other,  the  pre 
server  of  its  life. 


376  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

Both  were  reared  by  the  hand  of  Providence  for 
the  work  entrusted  to  their  care,  both  were  led  by 
nature  along  the  rugged  path  of  poverty;  both 
formed  a  character  whose  foundations  were  laid 
broad  and  deep  in  the  purest  truths  of  morality — a 
character  which  stood  unshaken  amid  the  terrors 
of  war  and  the  tranquility  of  peace;  a  character 
which  allowed  neither  cowardice  upon  the  battle 
field  nor  tyranny  in  the  presidential  chair.  Thus 
did  they  win  the  hearts  of  their  countrymen  and 
prepare  for  themselves  a  lasting  place  of  rest  in  the 
tender  memories  of  a  grateful  people. 

History  but  voices  our  own  experience  when  it 
awards  to  true  nobility  of  character  the  highest 
place  among  the  enviable  possessions  of  man. 
— I—  Nor  is  it  the  gift  of  fortune.  In  this,  at  least, 
we  are  not  creatures  of  circumstance ;  talent,  spe 
cial  genius  may  be  the  gift  of  nature;  position  in 
society  the  gift  of  birth;  respect  may  be  bought 
with  wealth;  but  neither  one  nor  all  of  these  can 
give  character.  It  is  a  slow  but  sure  growth  to 
which  every  thought  and  action  lends  its  aid.  To 
•  form  character  is  to  form  grooves  in  which  are 
to  flow  the  purposes  of  our  lives.  It  is  to  adopt 
principles  which  are  to  be  the  measure  of  our 
actions,  the  criteria  of  our  deeds.  This  we  are  doing 
each  day,  either  consciously  or  unconsciously.  There 
is  character  formed  by  our  association  with  each 
friend,  by  every  aspiration  of  the  heart,  by  every 
object  toward  which  our  affections  go  out,  yea,  by 
every  thought  that  flies  on  its  lightning  wing 
^through  the  dark  recesses  of  the  brain. 

It  is  a  law  of  mind  that  it  acts  most  readily  in 


0 


CHARACTER  377 


familiar  paths,  hence,  repetition  forms  habit,  and 
almost  before  we  are  aware,  we  are  chained  to  a 
certain  routine  of  action  from  which,  it  is  difficult 
to  free  ourselves.  We  imitate  that  which  we  ad 
mire.  If  we  revel  in  stories  of  blood,  and  are 
pleased  with  the  sight  of  barbaric  cruelty,  we  find 
it  easy  to  become  a  Caligula  or  a  Domitian ;  we  pic 
ture  to  ourselves  scenes  of  cruelty  in  which  we  are 
actors,  and  soon  await  only  the  opportunity  to  vie 
in  atrocity  with  the  Neroes  of  the  past. 
O  If  we  delight  in  gossip,  and  are  not  content  unless 
each  neighbor  is  laid  upon  the  dissecting  table,  we 
form  a  character  unenviable  indeed,  and  must  be 
willing  to  bear  the  contempt  of  all  the  truly  good, 
Awhile  we  roll  our  bit  of  scandal  as  a  sweet  morsel 
under  the  tongue. 

But  if  each  day  we  gather  some  new  truths,  plant 
ourselves  more  firmly  upon  principles  which  are 
eternal,  guard  every  thought  and  action,  that  it 
may  be  pure,  and  conform  our  lives  more  nearly  to 
that  Perfect  Model,  we  shall  form  a  character  that 
will  be  a  fit  background  on  which  to  paint  the 
noblest  deeds  and  the  grandest  intellectual  and 
moral  achievements;  a  character  that  cannot  be 
concealed,  but  which  will  bring  success  in  this  life 
and  form  the  best  preparation  for  that  wilich  is 
beyond. 

The  formation  of  character  is  a  work  which  con 
tinues  through  life,  but  at  no  time  is  it  so  active 
as  in  youth  and  early  manhood.  At  this  time  im 
pressions  are  most  easily  made,  and  mistakes  most 
easily  corrected.  It  is  the  season  for  the  sowing  of 
the  seed — the  springtime  of  life.  ^  JThere  is  no  com- 

II  25 


378  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

plaiiit  in  the  natural  world  because  each  fruit  and 
herb  brings  forth  after  its  kind;  there  is  no  com 
plaint  if  a  neglected  seed-time  brings  a  harvest  of 
want ;  there  is  no  cry  of  injustice  if  thistles  spring 
from  thistle-seed  sown.  As  little  reason  have  we  to 
murmur  if  in  after-life  we  discover  a  character 
dwarfed  and  deformed  by  the  evil  thoughts  and 
actions  of  today;  as  little  reason  have  we  to  im 
peach  the  wisdom  of  God  if  our  wild  oats,  as  they 
are  called  in  palliation,  leave  scars  upon  our  man- 
/  >  hood,  which  years  of  reform  fail  to  wear  away. 
^Character  is  the  entity,  the  individuality,  of  the 
person,  shining  from  every  window  of  the  soul, 
either  as  a  beam  of  purity,  or  as  a  clouded  ray  that 
betrays  the  impurity  within.  The  contest  between 
light  and  darkness,  right  and  wrong,  goes  on ;  day 
by  day,  hour  by  hour,  moment  by  moment,  our 
characters  are  being  formed,  and  this  is  the  all- 
important  question  which  comes  to  us  in  accents" 
ever  growing  fainter  as  we  journey  from  the  cradle 
to  the  grave,  "Shall  those  characters  be  good  or 
bad?" 

Beloved  instructors,  it  is  character  not  less  than 
intellect  that  you  have  striven  to  develop.  As  we 
stand  at  the  end  of  our  college  course,  and  turn 
our  eyes  toward  the  scenes  forever  past — as  our 
memories  linger  on  the  words  of  wisdom  which  have 
fallen  from  your  lips,  we  are  more  and  more  deeply 
imprest  with  the  true  conception  of  duty  which  you 
have  ever  shown.  You  have  sought  not  to  trim 
the  lamp  of  genius  until  the  light  of  morality  is 
paled  by  its  dazzling  brilliance,  but  to  encourage 
and  strengthen  both.  These  days  are  over.  No 


CHARACTER  379 

longer  shall  we  listen  to  your  warning  voices,  no 
more  meet  you  in  these  familiar  class-rooms,  yet 
on  our  hearts  " deeply  has  sunk  the  lesson"  you 
have  given,  ' '  and  shall  not  soon  depart. ' ' 

We  thank  you  for  your  kind  and  watchful  care, 
and  shall  ever  cherish  your  teachings  with  that 
devotion  which  sincere  gratitude  inspires. 

It  is  fitting  that  we  express  to  you  also,  honored 
trustees,  our  gratitude  for  the  privileges  which  you 
have  permitted  us  to  enjoy. 

The  name  of  the  institution  whose  interests  you 
guard  will  ever  be  dear  to  us  as  the  school-room, 
to  whose  influence  we  shall  trace  whatever  success 
coming  years  may  bring. 

Dear  class-mates,  my  lips  refuse  to  bid  you  a  last 
good-by ;  we  have  so  long  been  joined  together  in  a 
community  of  aims  and  interests;  so  often  met 
and  mingled  our  thoughts  in  confidential  friend 
ship;  so  often  planned  and  worked  together,  that 
it  seems  like  rending  asunder  the  very  tissues  of  the 
heart  to  separate  us  now. 

But  this  long  and  happy  association  is  at  an 
end,  and  now  as  we  go  forth  in  sorrow,  as  each  one 
must,  to  begin  alone  the  work  which  lies  before 
us,  let  us  encourage  each  other  with  strengthening 
words. 

Success  is  brought  by  continued  labor  and  con 
tinued  watchfulness.  We  must  struggle  on,  not 
for  one  moment  hesitate,  nor  take  one  backward 
step  ;  for  in  language  of  the  poet — 

The  gates  of  hell  are  open  night  and  day, 
Smooth  the  descent  and  easy  is  the  way; 
But  to  return  and  view  the  cheerful  sky, 
In  this,  the  task  and  mighty  labor  lie. 


380  BRYAN 'S  SPEECHES 

We  launch  our  vessels  upon  the  uncertain  sea 
of  life  alone,  yet,  not  alone,  for  around  us  are 
friends  who  anxiously  and  prayerfully  watch  our 
course.  They  will  rejoice  if  we  arrive  safely  at  our 
respective  havens,  or  weep  with  bitter  tears,  if,  one 
by  one,  our  weather-beaten  barks  are  lost  forever  in 
the  surges  of  the  deep. 

We  have  esteemed  each  other,  loved  each  other, 
and  now  must  from  each  other  part.  God  grant 
that  we  may  all  so  live  as  to  meet  in  the  better 
world,  where  parting  is  unknown. 

Halls  of  learning,  fond  Alma  Mater,  farewell. 
We  turn  to  take  one  "last,  long,  lingering  look"  at 
thy  receding  walls.  We  leave  thee  now  to  be  ush 
ered  out  into  the  varied  duties  of  active  life. 

However  high  our  names  may  be  inscribed  upon 
the  gilded  scroll  of  fame,  to  thee  we  all  the  honor 
give,  to  thee  all  praises  bring.  And  when,  in  after 
years,  we  're  wearied  by  the  bustle  of  a  busy  world, 
our  hearts  will  often  long  to  turn  and  seek  repose 
beneath  thy  sheltering  shade. 


II 

GRAY'S  ELEGY 

Delivered  in  1890  in  presenting  a  copy  of  Gray's  Elegy 
to  the  opposing  candidates  for  Congress  at  the  close  of  a 
series  of  debates. 

MR.  CONNELL :  We  now  bring  to  a  close 
this  series  of  debates  which  was  arranged 
by  our  committees.  I  am  glad  that  we 
have  been  able  to  conduct  these  discussions  in 
a  courteous  and  i'rlendly  manner.  If  I  have,  in 
any  way,  offended  you  in  word  or  deed  I  offer 
apology  and  regret,  and  as  freely  forgive.  I  desire 
to  present  to  you  in  remembrance  of  these  pleasant 
meetings  this  little  volume,  because  it  contains 
" Gray's  Elegy,"  in  perusing  which  I  trust  you 
will  find  as  much  pleasure  and  profit  as  I  have 
found.  It  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  touching 
tributes  to  humble  life  that  literature  contains. 
Grand  in  its  sentiment  and  sublime  in  its  simplicity, 
we  may  both  find  in  it  a  solace  in  victory  or  defeat. 
If  success  should  crown  your  efforts  in  this  cam 
paign,  and  it  should  be  your  lot  "TV  applause  of 
list'ning  senates  to  command,"  and  I  am  left 

A  youth  to  fortune  and  to  fame  unknown, 

Forget  not  us  who  in  the  common  walks  of  life  per 
form  our  part,  but  in  the  hour  of  your  triumph 
recall  the  verse : 

(381) 


382  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

Let  not  ambition  mock  their  useful  toil, 
Their  homely  joys  and  destiny  obscure ; 

Nor  grandeur  hear,  with  a  disdainful  smile, 
The  short  and  simple  annals  of  the  poor. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  by  the  verdict  of  my  coun 
trymen,  I  shall  be  made  your  successor,  let  it  not 
be  said  of  you : 

And  melancholy  marked  him  for  her  own, 
But  find  sweet  consolation  in  the  thought : 

Full  many  a  gem  of  purest  ray  serene, 

The  dark  unfathomed  caves  of  ocean  bear; 

Full  many  a  flower  is  born  to  blush  unseen, 
And  waste  its  sweetness  on  the  desert  air. 

But  whether  the  palm  of  victory  is  given  to  you 
or  to  me,  let  us  remember  those  of  whom  the  poet 
says: 

Far  from  the  madding  crowd's  ignoble  strife, 
Their  sober  wishes  never  learn'd  to  stray ; 

Along  the  cool  sequester'd  vale  of  life 
They  kept  the  noiseless  tenor  of  their  way. 

These  are  the  ones  most  likely  to  be  forgotten  by 
the  Government.  When  the  poor  and  weak  cry  out 
for  relief  they,  too,  often  hear  no  answer  but  "the 
echo  of  their  cry,"  while  the  rich,  the  strong,  the 
powerful  are  given  an  attentive  ear.  For  this 
reason  is  class  legislation  dangerous  and  deadly. 
It  takes  from  those  least  able  to  lose  and  gives  to 
those  who  are  least  in  need.  The  safety  of  our 
farmers  and  our  laborers  is  not  in  special  legisla 
tion,  but  in  equal  and  just  laws  that  bear  alike  on 
every  man.  The  great  masses  of  our  people  are 
interested,  not  in  getting  their  hands  into  other 
people 's  pockets,  but  in  keeping  the  hands  of  other 


GRAY'S  ELEGY  383 

people  out  of  their  pockets.  Let  me,  in  parting, 
express  the  hope  that  you  and  I  may  be  instru 
mental  in  bringing  our  Government  back  to  better 
laws  which  will  give  equal  treatment  without  re 
gard  to  creed  or  condition.  I  bid  you  a  friendly 
farewell. 


t,. 

c.fna 

in 

MEMORIAL    DAY  AT  ARLINGTON 

Delivered  in  Arlington  Cemetery,  Washington,  D.  C.,  on 
Decoration  Day,  May  30,  1894. 

WITH  flowers  in  our  hands  and  sadness  in 
our  hearts  we  stand  amid  the  tombs  where 
the  nation's  dead  are  sleeping.  It  is  ap 
propriate  that  the  Chief  Executive  is  here,  accom 
panied  by  his  Cabinet;  it  is  appropriate  that  the 
soldier's  widow  is  here,  and  the  soldier's  son; 
it  is  appropriate  that  here  are  assembled,  in  num 
bers  growing  less  each  year,  the  scarred  survivors, 
Federal  and  Confederate,  of  our  last  great  war; 
it  is  appropriate,  also,  that  these  exercises  in  honor 
of  comrades  dead  should  be  conducted  by  comrades 
still  surviving.  All  too  soon  the  day  will  come 
when  these  graves  must  be  decorated  by  hands  un 
used  to  implements  of  war,  and  when  these  speeches 
must  be  made  by  lips  that  never  answered  to  a  roll 
call. 

We,  who  are  of  the  aftermath,  cannot  look  upon 
the  flag  with  the  same  emotions  that  thrill  you  who 
have  followed  it  as  your  pillar  of  cloud  by  day  and 
your  pillar  of  fire  by  night,  nor  can  we  appreciate  it 
as  you  can  who  have  seen  it  waving  in  front  of  rein 
forcements  when  succor  meant  escape  from  death ; 
neither  can  we,  standing  by  these  blossom-covered 
mounds,  feel  as  you  have  often  felt  when  far  away 
from  home  and  on  hostile  soil  you  have  laid  your 
(384) 


MEMORIAL  DAY  AT  ARLINGTON    385 

companions  to  rest ;  but  from  a  new  generation  we 
can  bring  you  the  welcome  assurance  that  the  com 
memoration  of  this  day  will  not  depart  with  you. 
We  may  neglect  the  places  where  the  nation's 
greatest  victories  have  been  won,  but  we  cannot  for 
get  the  Arlingtons  which  the  nation  has  consecrated 
with  its  tears. 

To  ourselves  as  well  as  to  the  dead  we  owe  the 
duty  which  we  discharge  here,  for  monuments  and 
memorial  days  declare  the  patriotism  of  the  living 
no  less  than  the  virtues  of  those  whom  they  com 
memorate. 

We  would  be  blind  indeed  to  our  own  interests 
and  to  the  welfare  of  posterity  if  we  were  deaf  to 
the  just  demands  of  the  soldier  and  his  dependents. 
We  are  grateful  for  the  services  rendered  by  our 
defenders,  whether  illustrious  or  nameless,  and  yet 
a  nation's  gratitude  is  not  entirely  unselfish,  since 
by  our  regard  for  the  dead  we  add  to  the  security 
of  the  living;  by  our  remembrance  of  those  who 
have  suffered  we  give  inspiration  to  those  upon 
whose  valor  we  must  hereafter  rely,  and  prove  our 
selves  worthy  of  the  sacrifices  which  have  been 
'  made  and  which  may  be  again  required. 

The  essence  of  patriotism  lies  in  a  willingness  to 
sacrifice  for  one's  country,  just  as  true  greatness 
finds  expression,  not  in  blessings  enjoyed,  but  in 
good  bestowed.  Read  the  words  inscribed  on  the 
monuments  reared  by  loving  hands  to  the  heroes 
of  the  past ;  they  do  not  speak  of  wealth  inherited, 
or  honors  bought  or  of  hours  in  leisure  spent,  but 
of  service  done.  Twenty  years,  forty  years,  a  life 
or  life's  most  precious  blood  he  yielded  up  for  the 


386  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

welfare  of  his  fellows — this  is  the  simple  story 
which  proves  that  it  is  now,  and  ever  has  been,  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  receive. 

The  officer  was  a  patriot  when  he  gave  his  ability 
to  his  country  and  risked  his  name  and  fame  upon 
the  fortunes  of  war;  the  private  soldier  was  a 
patriot  when  he  took  his  place  in  the  ranks  and 
offered  his  body  as  a  bulwark  to  protect  the  flag; 
the  wife  was  a  patriot  when  she  bade  her  husband 
farewell  and  gathered  about  her  the  little  brood 
over  which  she  must  exercise  both  a  mother's  and  a 
father 's  care ;  and,  if  there  can  be  degrees  in  patri 
otism,  the  mother  stood  first  among  the  patriots 
when  she  gave  to  the  nation  her  sons,  the  divinely 
appointed  support  of  her  declining  years,  and  as 
she  brushed  the  tears  away  thanked  God  that  he 
had  given  her  the  strength  to  rear  strong  and  cour 
ageous  sons  for  the  battlefield. 

To  us  who  were  born  too  late  to  prove  upon  the 
battlefield  our  courage  and  our  loyalty  it  is  grati 
fying  to  know  that  opportunity  will  not  be  wanting 
to  show  our  love  of  country.  In  a  nation  like  ours, 
where  the  Government  is  founded  upon  the  prin 
ciple  of  equality  and  derives  its  just  powers  from 
the  consent  of  the  governed ;  in  a  land  like  ours,  I 
say,  where  every  citizen  is  a  sovereign  and  where 
no  one  cares  to  wear  a  crown,  every  year  presents  a 
battlefield  and  every  day  brings  forth  occasion  for 
the  display  of  patriotism. 

And  on  this  memorial  day  we  shall  fall  short  of 
our  duty  if  we  content  ourselves  with  praising  the 
dead  or  complimenting  the  living  and  fail  to  make 
preparations  for  those  responsibilities  which  pres- 


MEMORIAL  DAY  AT   ARLINGTON    387 

ent  times  and  present  conditions  impose  upon  us. 
We  can  find  instruction  in  that  incomparable  ad 
dress  delivered  by  Abraham  Lincoln  on  the  battle 
field  of  Gettysburg.  It  should  be  read  as  a  part 
of  the  exercises  of  this  day  on  each  returning  year 
as  the  Declaration  of  Independence  is  read  on  the 
Fourth  of  July.  Let  me  quote  from  it,  for  its 
truths,  like  all  truths,  are  applicable  in  all  times 
and  climes: 

"We  have  come  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  that  field  as  a 
final  resting  place  for  those  who  here  gave  their  lives  that 
that  nation  might  live.  It  is  altogether  fitting  and  proper 
that  we  should  do  this.  But  in  a  larger  sense  we  cannot 
dedicate,  we  cannor  consecrate,  we  cannot  hallow  this  ground. 
The  brave  men,  living  and  dead,  who  struggled  here  have  con 
secrated  it  far  above  our  poor  power  to  add  or  detract.  Th •> 
worid  will  little  note,  nor  long  remember,  what  we  say  here, 
but  it  can  never  forget  what  they  did  here.  It  is  for  us. 
the  living,  rather  to  be  dedicated  here  to  the  unfinished  work 
which  they  who  fought  here  thus  far  so  nobly  advanced." 

"The  Unfinished  Work."  Yes,  every  generation 
leaves  to  its  successor  an  unfinished  work.  The 
work  of  society,  the  work  of  human  progress,  the 
work  of  civilization  is  never  completed.  We  build 
upon  the  foundation  which  we  find  already  laid  and 
those  who  follow  us  take  up  the  work  where  we 
leave  off.  Those  who  fought  and  fell  thirty  years 
ago  did  nobly  advance  the  work  in  their  day,  for 
they  led  the  nation  up  to  higher  grounds.  Theirs 
was  the  greatest  triumph  in  all  history.  Other 
armies  have  been  inspired  by  love  of  conquest  or 
have  fought  to  repel  a  foreign  enemy,  but  our 
armies  held  within  the  Union  brethren  who  now 
rejoice  at  their  own  defeat  and  glory  in  the  preser 
vation  of  the  nation  which  they  once  sought  to  dis- 


388  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

member.  No  greater  victory  can  be  won  by  citizens 
or  soldiers  than  to  transform  temporary  foes  into 
permanent  friends.  But  let  me  quote  again : 

"It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to  the  great  task 
remaining  before  us ;  that  from  these  honored  dead  we  take 
increased  devotion  to  that  cause  for  which  they  gave  the 
last  full  measure  of  devotion ;  that  we  here  highly  resolve 
that  these  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain ;  that  this  nation, 
under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom  and  that  gov 
ernment  of  the  people,  by  the  people  and  for  the  people  shall 
not  perish  from  the  earth." 

Aye,  let  us  here  dedicate  ourselves  anew  to  this 
unfinished  work  which  requires  of  each  generation 
constant  sacrifice  and  unceasing  care.  Pericles,  in 
speaking  of  those  who  fell  in  the  Peloponnesian  war, 
lauded  the  loyalty  of  his  countrymen  when  he  said : 

"It  was  for  such  a  country,  then,  that  these  men,  nobly 
resolving  not  to  have  it  taken  from  them,  fell  fighting,  and 
every  one  of  their  survivors  may  be  willing  to  suffer  in  its 
behalf." 

The  strength  of  a  nation  does  not  lie  m  forts,  nor 
in  navies,  nor  yet  in  great  standing  armies,  but  in 
happy  and  contented  citizens,  who  are  ever  ready 
to  protect  for  themselves  and  to  preserve  for  pos 
terity  the  blessings  which  they  enjoy.  It  is  for  us 
of  this  generation  so  to  perform  the  duties  of  citi 
zenship  that  a  "  government  of  the  people  by  the 
people  and  for  the  people  shall  not  perish  from  the 
earth." 


IV 
AT   HIS   RECEPTION  IN   LINCOLN 

Delivered  at  Lincoln,  Neb.,  on  September  5,  1906,  at  the 
non-pa rtizaii  reception  tendered  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bryan  by 
the  citizens  of  Lincoln  on  their  return  from  a  tour  of  the 
world. 

IX  the  Arabic  language  there  are  some  six  hun 
dred  words  which  mean  "camel,"  and  for  the 
last  few  days  I  have  been  wishing  that  there 
were  that  many  words  in  the  English  language 
which  meant  "thank  you."  I  have  had  occasion 
to  use  the  old  familiar  term  "thank  you"  a  great 
many  times  since  I  landed  in  New  York.  In  Lon 
don  I  had  occasion  to  regret  that  I  could  speak 
but  one  language  in  that  meeting  where  the  repre 
sentatives  of  twenty-six  nations  were  assembled; 
but  if  I  could  speak  all  the  languages  known  to 
man  I  would  not  be  able  to  express  the  gratitude 
which  my  wife  and  I  feel  for  the  generous  welcome 
which  has  been  extended  to  us  on  our  return  home. 
The  home  folks  met  us  in  the  harbor  of  New  York, 
and  I  never  looked  into  the  faces  of  a  group  of 
friends  more  gladly  in  my  life.  They  took  charge 
of  us,  and  they  have  floated  us  upon  a  stream  oi: 
welcome  1,500  miles  long,  several  leagues  wide,  and 
of  immeasurable  depth,  until  that  stream  has  emp 
tied  itself  into  this  ocean  of  good-will.  To  come 
home  to  those  among  whom  we  live  and  find  this 
kindly  feeling  touches  our  hearts ;  to  find  those  who 
(389) 


390  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

differ  from  us  in  political  opinion  vicing  with  those 
who  agree  with  us  to  make  our  reception  delightful, 
more  than  pays  us  for  anything  that  we  have  been 
able  to  do. 

It  is  kind  of  our  dear  old  minister  to  offer  the 
invocation  and  my  heart  joins  his  in  its  ascent  to 
the  throne  of  God  in  gratitude  for  that  providence 
which  has  kept  us  amid  the  dangers  of  foreign 
lands  and  brought  us  safely  through  the  perils  of 
the  deep.  It  is  kind  in  the  chief  executive  of  the 
city  to  welcome  us  to  this,  his  rich  domain ;  and  it 
is  kind  in  the  governor  of  this  great  State  to  join 
in  giving  us  a  greeting  as  we  come  home.  The 
fact  that  Governor  Mickey,  with  whom  I  have  not 
always  been  able  to  entirely  agree,  has  overlooked 
the  opposition  that  has  sometimes  arisen,  only 
shows  how  much  there  is  in  life  tha't  we  can  enjoy 
together,  and  how  little,  after  all,  political  differ 
ences  ought  to  count  between  men.  I  might  de 
scribe  it  thus,  that  the  things  that  we  hold  in  com  - 
mon  are  like  the  sunshine  of  the  day,  while  partizan 
differences  are  like  the  clouds  that  come  and  in  a 
moment  pass  away. 

I  am  glad  to  be  here  with  you,  and  I  speak  for 
my  wife  and  children  as  well  as  for  myself,  when  I 
thank  you  a  thousand,  thousand  times.  I  do  not 
know  how  I  can  repay  you  for  the  joy  you  have 
given  us,  unless  you  will  permit  me  as  occasion 
offers  to  bring  such  lessons  as  I  am  able  to  bring 
from  what  we  have  observed  in  other  lands.  When 
we  conceived  this  trip  around  the  earth,  it  was  with 
the  belief  that  there  would  be  education  in  it.  We 
thought  so  highly  of  it  that  we  were  willing  to  take 


AT  HIS  RECEPTION  IN  LINCOLN    391 

the  children  out  of  school  for  a  year,  and  I  believe 
that  it  was  worth  more  than  a  year's  education. 
But  it  has  been  instructive  far  beyond  what  we 
imagined,  and  we  have  been  able  to  store  up  infor 
mation  that  will  not  only  be  valuable  in  the  years 
to  come,  but  will  give  us  something  to  reflect  upon 
in  the  closing  years  of  our  lives.  I  have  for  years 
appreciated  the  honor  and  the  responsibility  of 
American  citizenship.  Twenty-two  years  ago  when 
I  returned  to  my  college  to  receive  the  Masters' 
Degree  I  took  as  the  subject  of  my  address,  "Ameri 
can  Citizenship. ' '  and  as  I  recall  the  language  that, 
I  then  used  I  am  sure  that  even  then  I  understood 
somewhat  of  the  importance  of  our  nation's  posi 
tion  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  During  the 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  that  has  elapsed  my 
appreciation  of  my  nation's  greatness  has  increased, 
but  never  has  my  pride  in  my  nation  grown  as  it 
has  during  the  past  year. 

Following  the  sun  in  his  course  around  the  globe, 
I  have  noted  everywhere  the  effect  of  American 
influence.  Before  I  left  home  I  had  spoken  at  times 
of'altruism  and  its  part  in  the  world's  affairs.  But. 
my  friends,  I  have  learned  something  of  altruism 
since  I  was  last  among  you,  and  I  affirm  without 
fear  of  contradiction  that  there  is  no  nation  011 
earth  which  manifests  such  disinterested  friend 
ship  for  the  human  race  as  this  dear  land  of  ours. 
Not  only  do  I  affirm  that  our  nation  has  no  equal 
living,  but  I  affirm  that  history  presents  no  ex 
ample  like  ours.  In  many  ways  our  nation  is  lead 
ing  the  world.  I  have  found  in  every  land  I  have 
visited  a  growth  of  ideas  that  underlie  our  govern- 


392  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

inent.  A  century  and  a  quarter  ago  certain  politi 
cal  doctrines  were  planted  on  American  soil,  and 
those  doctrines  have  grown  and  spread  until  there 
is  not  a  nation  on  earth  that  has  not  felt  the  impulse 
that  was  started  in  this  country  at  that  time.  There 
is  not  a  nation  in  the  world  in  which  the  democratic 
idea  is  not  moving  and  moving  powerfully  today. 
Go  into  Japan  and  you  will  find  that  they  not  only 
have  a  representative  government,  but  that  they 
are  continually  endeavoring  to  make  that  govern 
ment  more  responsive  to  the  sentiment  of  the  peo 
ple.  Go  into  China,  that  great  nation  which  has 
slumbered  for  twenty  centuries,  and  you  will  find 
that  there  is  a  stirring  there  and  that  the  Dowager 
Empress  has  within  a  year  sent  commissioners 
abroad  to  investigate  the  institutions  of  other  lands 
with  the  purpose  of  granting  a  constitutional  gov 
ernment  to  the  flowery  kingdom. 

Within  a  year  public  opinion  in  Russia  has 
forced  a  reluctant  czar  to  grant  a  douma,  and 
while  that  douma  has  been  dissolved  it  has  been 
dissolved  with  the  promise  that  another  shall  take 
its  place.  Not  only  do  you  find  the  democratic  sen 
timent — and  I  need  not  tell  you  that  I  use  the 
word  in  no  partizan  sense — not  only  is  this  spread 
ing,  but  education  is  spreading  throughout  the 
world. 

It  is  still  true  that  millions,  yes,  hundreds  of 
millions,  sit  in  darkness.  It  is  true  that  in  one  of 
the  nations  of  the  Orient  scarcely  one  in  a  hundred 
can  read  intelligently  a  letter  written  to  him.  It 
is  true  that  in  another  Oriental  nation  less  than 
one  per  cent,  of  the  women  can  read  and  write.  It 


AT  HIS  RECEPTION  IN  LINCOLN      393 

is  true  that  you  find  many  places  where  there  is 
great  intellectual  darkness,  but,  my  friends,  in  every 
nation  which  I  visited  there  is  growth,  there  is 
progress.  A  viceroy  of  China  declared  that  in  five 
years  he  had  established  four  thousand  schools  in 
his  one  district,  that  in  a  nation  which  until  re 
cently  knew  nothing  of  the  public  school.  I  found 
that  even  in  Turkey  they  are  beginning  to  realize 
the  necessity  for  education,  and  the  governor  of 
one  of  the  Turkish  States  told  me  that  it  was  neces 
sary  that  the  people  of  Turkey  should  be  educated 
if  they  were  going  to  hold  any  place  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  Not  only  are  they  establishing 
public  schools,  but  they  are  establishing  private 
schools.  Not  only  private  schools,  but  schools  sup 
ported  by  contributions  from  abroad. 

All  over  the  Orient  you  will  find  schools  estab 
lished  by  Americans  and  supported  by  money  con 
tributed  each  year  by  Americans  interested  in  the 
cause  of  education.  And  after  having  visited  these 
schools,  and  the  churches  which  stand  beside  them 
at  every  point  at  which  we  stopped  in  the  Orient, 
we  reached  Bombay  and  found  there  also  these 
schools  supported  by  American  money.  I  told  them 
that  if  we  could  not  boast  that  the  sun  never  set 
upon  our  possessions  we  could  boast  that  it  never 
set  upon  American  philanthropy.  I  am  proud  of 
this  work  that  my  country  is  doing,  and  none  of  us 
are  wise  enough  to  look  into  the  future  and  see 
what  may  be  done  by  these  boys  and  girls  who  owe 
their  intellectual  training  to  the  benevolence  of 
American  citizens.  And  in  the  presence  of  the 
ladies  who  grace  this  occasion  let  me  say,  that  one 

II  26 


394  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

who  travels  abroad,  especially  in  the  Orient,  learns 
to  appreciate  what  America  does  for  the  woman. 
There  is  no  other  nation  in  which  woman  stands 
as  high  as  she  does  in  the  United  States.  There 
is  no  other  nation  in  which  woman  so  nearly  ap 
proaches  the  position  that  the  Creator  intended  her 
to  fill.  I  have  had  some  difficulty  in  bringing  my 
countrymen  to  accept  the  double  standard  as  ap 
plied  to  money.  I  think,  however,  they  will  agree 
with  me  when  I  apply  the  double  standard  to  man 
and  woman,  and  they  will  forgive  me  if  I  consent 
to  a  change  in  the  ratio  from  16  to  1  to  1  to  1. 

Another  thought  that  has  imprest  itself  upon  me 
is  the  superiority  of  our  religion  over  the  religions 
of  the  east.  When  I  visited  China  I  had  a  high 
conception  of  the  philosophy  of  Confucius,  but 
when  I  had  seen  Confucianism  applied  to  human 
life  and  exemplified  in  Chinese  society ;  when  I  had 
studied  the  words  of  Confucius  I  lost  my  admira 
tion  for  the  philosophy  of  Confucius.  I  found  that 
there  were  several  points  where  this  system  came 
into  direct  antagonism  with  the  teachings  of  Christ. 
I  have  heard  it  said  that  Confucius  gave  what  was 
equivalent  to  the  golden  rule  when  he  said:  "Do 
not  unto  others  that  which  you  would  not  have 
others  do  unto  you. ' '  But  if  you  will  examine  the 
difference  you  will  find  that  there  is  a  world  wide 
space  between  the  negative  doctrine  of  Confucius 
and  the  positive  doctrine  of  the  Nazarene.  The 
negative  doctrine  is  not  sufficient.  Life  means 
something  better  than  negative  harmlessness ;  it 
means  positive  helpfulness  prompted  by  love  for 
mankind. 


AT  IIIS  RECEPTION  IN  LINCOLN      395 

Once  when  Confucius  was  asked  what  he  thought 
of  the  doctrine  that  you  should  do  good  to  those 
who  injure  you,  his  reply  was  that  you  should 
recompense  good  with  good,  and  evil  with  justice; 
but  Christ  says  love  your  enemies,  and  do  good  to 
those  that  hate  you.  How  can  you  know  what 
justice  is  if  revenge  is  rankling  in  your  bosom? 
Christ  gave  us  the  doctrine  that  takes  from  the 
heart  the  desire  for  revenge;  by  putting  love  in 
its  place,  He  makes  it  possible  for  men  to  know 
what  justice  is. 

And  as  we  traveled  through  India  and  saw  the 
idolatry  that  one  finds  there ;  as  we  saw  them  dip 
up  wrater  from  the  sacred  Ganges;  as  we  saw 
them  bathing  the  limbs  of  the  dead  in  these  waters 
to  consecrate  them  before  they  were  burned ;  as  we 
watched  them  in  their  devotion  and  in  their  super 
stitions,  our  hearts  turned  with  love  and  longing 
to  the  little  churches  of  this  country  where  God  is 
worshiped  in  a  different  way. 

But,  my  friends,  I  am  not  here  to  speak  to  you 
to-night.  It  has  been  announced  that  we  are  to 
have  the  pleasure  of  shaking  hands  with  you  as 
soon  as  I  have  concluded  my  remarks.  I  have  been 
taking  a  survey  of  this  audience.  Mrs.  Bryan  and 
I  have  at  times  shaken  hands  with  as  many  as  3,600 
an  hour,  and  I  have  been  looking  over  this  audience 
and  wondering  how  high  the  sun  would  be  in  the 
sky  tomorrow  morning  when  we  are  through.  As 
we  have  not  had  our  full  quota  of  sleep  since  we 
landed  in  New  York  I  must  not  postpone  that 
sleep  too  long.  I  shall  not  occupy  more  of  your 
time  than  to  sav  that  we  come  home  again  with  de- 


396  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

light.    We  have  seen  nothing  abroad  that  is  so  dear 
to  us  as  home. 

To-night  we  shall  not  rest  on  the  trembling  bosom 
the  mighty  deep;  we  shall  rest  rather  on  these 
billowy  plains  of  the  boundless  West,  and  I  am  sure 
that  the  alfalfa-scented  air  of  these  lands  will  be 
sweeter  than  the  spicy  breezes  of  Ceylon.  And  I 
know  that  in  our  home  upon  the  hill  where  we  can 
meet  you  and  talk  over  the  days  when  we  have  been 
absent  we  will  be  far  happier  than  we  would  be  in 
-any  castle  on  the  Rhine. 


V 

THE  CONSERVATION  OF 
NATIONAL  RESOURCES 

At  the  conference  at  the  White  House,  called  by  Presi 
dent  Roosevelt  to  consider  the  conservation  of  the  nation's 
resources,  Mr.  Bryan,  as  one  of  the  special  guests,  delivered 
the  following  address  on  May  15,  1908. 

I  HESITATE  to  speak  at  all,  because  the  Gover 
nors  who  are  assembled  here  represent  con 
stituencies,  and  those  constituencies,  well 
marked,  are  looking  to  them  for  the  protection  of 
State  interests  in  conjunction  with  the  development 
of  National  interests.  I  recognize  that  a  private 
citizen,  like  myself,  with  no  fixt  constituency 
(laughter  and  applause)  speaks,  if  he  speaks  at 
all,  either  for  himself  or  for  a  nebulous  portion  of 
the  nation.  I  recognize,  too,  that  such  an  one 
speaks  with  less  authority ;  and  I  have  been  anxious 
that  those  who  are  in  official  position  should  discuss 
these  questions  and  leave  us  unofficial  visitors  to 
the  last. 

It  is  impossible  in  the  short  time  that  one  can 
properly  occupy  to  take  up  and  elaborate  any  of 
these  themes;  therefore,  I  am  going  to  present  in 
writing  certain  observations  which  I  think  apply 
to  the  entire  subject. 

I  acknowledge  my  obligation  to  President  Roose 
velt  for  the  opportunity  which  he  has  given  me  to 
participate  in  this  meeting.  The  conference  marks 
(397). 


398  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

the  beginning  of  a  new  era,  during  which  increas 
ing  attention  will  be  given  to  the  far-reaching  prob 
lems  involved  in  the  conservation  of  the  Nation's 
resources.  (Applause.)  The  epoch-making  speech 
with  which  the  Chief  Executive  opened  the  first 
session  must  exert  a  powerful  influence  upon  the 
country  at  large,  as  it  has  upon  those  who  were 
fortunate  enough  to  hear  him. 

The  assembling  of  the  Governors  of  nearly  all  the 
forty-six  States  is  in  itself  an  historic  event  of  the 
first  magnitude,  for  this  meeting,  and  the  future 
meetings  which  this  one  assures,  will  facilitate  co 
operation  between  the  States,  make  easier  the  doing 
of  those  things  which  should  be  done  by  the  Na 
tional  Government,  and  stimulate  the  several  States 
to  act  more  speedily  and  with  better  information 
upon  the  things  which  should  be  done  by  the  States 
independently.  There  has  been  some  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  the  relative  spheres  of  the  Nation  and 
the  State,  but  such  discussions  as  we  have  had  here, 
will  help  to  define  these  spheres  and  to  harmonize 
conflicting  opinions. 

I  am  a  strict  constructionist,  if  that  means  to 
believe  that  the  Federal  Government  is  one  of 
delegated  powers  and  that  constitutional  limitations 
should  be  carefully  observed.  I  am  jealous  of  any 
encroachment  upon  the  rights  of  the  States,  believ 
ing  that  the  States  are  as  indestructible  as  the 
Nation  is  indissoluble.  It  is,  however,  entirely  con 
sistent  with  this  theory  to  believe,  as  I  do  believe, 
that  it  is  just  as  imperative  that  the  general  Gov 
ernment  shall  discharge  the  duties  delegated  to  it, 
as  it  is  that  the  States  shall  exercise  the  powers 


CONSERVING  NATIONAL  RESOURCES  399 

reserved  to  them.  There  is  no  twilight  zone  be 
tween  the  Nation  and  the  State,  in  which  exploit 
ing  interests  can  take  refuge  from  both  (great  ap 
plause),  and  my  observation  is  that  most — not  all, 
but  most — of  the  contentions  over  the  line  between 
the  Nation  and  the  State  are  traceable  to  preda- , 
tory  corporations  which  are  trying  to  shield  them 
selves  from  deserved  punishment,  or  endeavoring  ' 
to  prevent  needed  restraining  legislation.  The  first 
point  which  I  desire  to  make  is  that  earnest  men, 
with  an  unselfish  purpose  and  concerned  only  for 
the  public  good,  will  be  able  to  agree  upon  legisla 
tion  which  will  not  only  preserve  for  the  future  the 
inheritance  which  we  have  received  from  a  bountiful 
Providence,  but  preserve  it  in  such  a  way  as  to 
avoid  the  dangers  of  centralization.  Nothing  that 
is  necessary  is  impossible;  and  it  would  be  a  re 
flection  upon  the  intelligence,  as  well  as  upon  the 
patriotism  of  our  people,  to  doubt  the  value  of 
gatherings  of  this  kind. 

The  time  allotted  to  each  speaker  is  so  short 
that  instead  of  attempting  to  discuss  the  various 
questions  presented  I  shall  content  myself  with  a 
few  suggestions  in  line  with  the  very  able  papers 
that  have  been  presented  by  the  specialists  who 
have  appeared  before  us.  I  begin  with  the  propo 
sition  that  it  should  be  our  purpose,  not  only  to 
preserve  our  Nation's  resources  for  future  genera-^ 
tions  by  reducing  waste  to  the  minimum,  to  see  to 
it  that  a  few  of  the  people  do  not  monopolize  that 
which  is  in  equity  the  property  of  all  the  people. 
(Applause.)  The  earth  belongs  to  each  genera 
tion,  and  it  is  as  criminal  to  fetter  future  genera- 


400  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

tions  with  perpetual  franchises,  as  it  would  be  to 
unnecessarily  impair  the  common  store.  (Ap 
plause.)  I  am  glad  that  Secretary  Garfield  empha 
sized  this  point.  It  is  one  that  must  always  be  kept 
in  mind  by  the  Nation  and  by  the  several  States. 

The  first  national  asset  is  to  be  found  in  the  life 
of  the  people,  and  Mr.  Mitchell  very  properly,  and 
with  great  force,  pointed  out  the  importance  of 
safeguarding  the  life,  the  limbs  and  the  health  of 
those  who  are  engaged  in  converting  the  Nation's 
natural  resources  into  material  wealth.  I  would  go 
a  step  farther  and  say  that  we  could  well  afford  to 
include  in  the  appropriations  made  by  Congress  a 
sum  sufficient  to  carry  on  necessary  investigations 
into  the  causes  of  diseases,  national  in  their  scope, 
and  to  stimulate  the  search  for  remedies  Vhich 
would  add  to  the  life,  health  and  usefulness  of  the 
whole  population.  (Applause.) 

I  was  surprized  at  the  statistics  given  in  regard 
to  our  coal  and  our  iron  ore.  While  it  is  possible 
that  new  coal  measures  and  new  ore  beds  may  be 
discovered,  we  cannot  afford  to  base  our  conduct 
upon  speculations  as  to  what  may  yet  be  discov 
ered.  We  should  begin  an  intelligent  supervision 
and  conservation  of  that  which  is  known  to  exist, 
and  I  respectfully  submit  that  it  is  worth  while  to 
ask  ourselves  whether  we  can  afford  to  offer  a 
bounty  to  those  who  are  engaged  in  exhausting  the 
supply  of  raw  materials,  which,  when  gone,  can  not 
be  replaced.  Surely  if  there  is  any  importation 
which  we  can  properly  encourage  by  a  free  list,  it  is 
the  importation  of  those  raw  materials  of  which 
our  own  supply  is  limited.  (Applause.)  And  what 


CONSERVING  NATIONAL  RESOURCES  401 

I  say  in  regard  to  coal  and  iron  ore  is  equally  ap 
plicable  to  timber.  It  is  hardly  consistent  to  dis 
courage  the  importation  of  lumber  while  we  worry 
about  the  devastation  of  our  forests. 

Mr.  Hill  has  rendered  the  conference  a  real  ser 
vice  in  presenting  the  facts  and  statistics  set  forth 
in  his  address  on  land  and  its  cultivation.  Few  of 
us,  probably,  were  conscious  of  the  impairment  of 
the  crop  value  of  our  soil.  I  am  sure  that  a  clear 
understanding  of  this  subject  will  lead  to  a  still 
further  enlargement  of  the  work  of  the  Depart 
ment  of  Agriculture  and  to  still  closer  cooperation 
between  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  the 
States  in  teaching  economical  methods  of  agri 
culture.  (Applause.)  Already  the  rapid  growth 
of  the  agricultural  college  offers  encourage 
ment  and  I  am  glad  to  express  my  appre 
ciation  of  the  valuable  work  done  by  Secre 
tary  Wilson  and  his  associates  in  bringing  from 
abroad  fruits,  plants  and  grasses  suited  to  the  dif 
ferent  sections  of  our  country.  As  the  farmer  pays 
more  than  his  share  of  the  taxes  and  receives  less 
than  his  share  of  the  direct  benefits  which  flow 
from  national  appropriations,  it  is  only  justice  to 
him  that  we  shall  be  liberal  in  the  support  of  every 
e-ffort  put  forth  for  the  improvement  of  agricul 
ture.  (Applause.) 

Irrigation  has  justified  the  arguments  which  led 
to  the  inauguration  of  the  work.  No  one  who  has 
witnessed  the  transformation  of  the  desert  into  field 
and  garden  can  doubt  the  wisdom  of  the  steps  that 
have  been  taken.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  both  the  Na 
tion  and  the  State  can  find  a  field  for  legitimate 


402  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

activity;  and  I  am  sure  that  there  will  be  a  con 
tinuation  of  this  work  until  all  of  the  waters  which 
can  be  utilized  for  that  purpose  have  been  appro 
priated. 

I  will  add  here  that  last  September  I  visited  the 
southern  part  of  Idaho  and  saw  there  a  tract  of 
land  which  had  been  recently  reclaimed  under  the 
operation  of  the  Carey  law.  I  had  been  there  ten 
years  before;  the  ground  was  so  barren  that  it 
seemed  as  if  it  were  impossible  that  it  could  ever 
be  made  useful.  When  I  went  back  this  time  and 
found  that  in  three  years  170,000  acres  of  land  had 
been  reclaimed;  that  where  three  years  ago  noth 
ing  but  the  sage  brush  grew  they  are  now  raising 
seven  tons  of  alfalfa  to  the  acre,  and  more  than  a 
hundred  bushels  of  oats;  that  ten  thousand  people 
were  living  on  that  tract;  that  in  one  town  that 
had  grown  up  in  that  time  there  \vere  1,910  inhabit 
ants,  and  that  in  the  three  banks  they  had  deposits 
of  over  $500,000 — when  I  found  this  change  I  had 
some  realization  of  the  magic  power  of  water  when 
applied  to  these  desert  lands.  (Applause.) 

The  same  principle  which  was  invoked  in  sup 
port  of  irrigation  can  be  invoked  in  support  of 
drainage.  The  question  is  not  whether  the  water 
shall  be  brought  on  the  land  or  taken  off  the  land ; 
it  is  whether  the  land  shall  be  made  tillable  and  its 
wealth-producing  qualities  utilized.  Drainage  of 
the  swamps  is,  therefore,  as  legitimate  a  work  as 
the  reclamation  of  arid  wastes. 

No  subject  has  been  brought  out  more  promi 
nently  at  this  conference  than  the  subject  of  for 
estry,  and  it  justifies  the  time  devoted  to  it;  for 


CONSERVING  NATIONAL  RESOURCES  403 

our  timber  lands  touch  our  national  interests  at 
several  points.  Our  use  of  timber  is  enormous,  but 
immense  as  would  be  the  inconvenience  and  loss 
caused  by  the  absence  of  lumber,  other  results  that 
would  follow  from  the  destruction  of  our  forests 
would  be  still  more  disastrous  to  the  Nation.  As 
has  been  shown,  the  timber  on  our  mountain  ranges 
protects  our  water  supply.  Not  to  speak  of  changes 
in  climate  which  might  follow  the  denuding  of  our 
mountains,  the  loss  to  the  irrigated  country  could 
not  be  remedied,  and  the  damage  to  the  streams 
could  not  be  calculated.  And  if  this  is  not  enough 
to  arouse  the  interest  of  all,  I  may  add  that  the  de 
struction  of  the  forests  on  the  mountain  ranges 
would,  in  time,  impair  the  underflow  upon  which 
we  rely  for  our  well  water. 

The  good  effects  of  this  conference  are  already 
apparent  in  the  determination  exprest  by  several 
Governors  to  at  once  appoint  Forestry  'Commis 
sions  and  to  begin  such  work  as  the  States  can  do. 
(Applause.)  In  this  case  action  is  so  urgent  and 
the  field  to  be  covered  so  large,  that  both  the  Nation  / 
and  the  several  States  can  exercise  themselves  to 
the  full  without  danger  of  doing  too  much.  (Ap 
plause.) 

The  national  reservations  already  made  in  the 
West,  and  the  new  reservations  that  ought  to  be 
made,  and  are  likely  to  be  made,  in  the  "White 
Mountains  and  the  Appalachian  Range,  can  doubt 
less  be  so  administered  as  to  protect  national  inter 
ests  without  unduly  burdening  the  States  in  which 
the  reservations  are  located,  or  needlessly  interfer 
ing  with  the  development  of  those  States.  No  na- 


404  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

tional  policy  need  retard  the  development  of  the 
Western  States,  and  their  own  interests  would  re 
strain  them  from  sacrificing  future  wealth  and  pro 
tection  for  temporary  advantage. 

Lastly,  I  come  to  our  interior  waterways.  I  shall 
not  defend  the  improvement  of  these  waterways  on 
the  ground  that  such  improvement  would  help  to 
regulate  railroad  rates  (altho  it  would  aid  regula 
tion),  for  whenever  the  people  are  ready  they  will 
exercise  the  power  which  they  now  have  to  regulate 
by  legislation.  But  water  traffic  is  less  expensive 
than  traffic  by  rail,  and  there  are  many  commodi 
ties  which  can  be  transported  much  more  cheaply 
by  water  than  they  possibly  could  be  carried  on 
land.  It  has  been  estimated  that  an  expenditure  of 
$500,000,000  on  interior  waterways  would  result  in 
a  saving  of  nearly  $200,000,000  annually. 

If  this  saving  were  equally  divided  between  the 
producers  and  the  consumers  it  would  be  an  enor 
mous  profit  to  both ;  and  Mr.  Carnegie  has  pointed 
out  that  water  transportation,  by  requiring  less 
iron  and  less  coal  in  proportion  to  the  freight  car 
ried,  would  enable  us  to  postpone  the  exhaustion  of 
our  iron  mines  and  our  coal  beds. 

The  development  of  water  transportation  is  es 
sentially  a  national  project  because  the  water 
courses  run  by  and  through  many  States.  And  yet, 
as  has  been  pointed  out,  it  would  be  possible  for 
the  States  to  do  a  certain  amount  of  developing 
along  this  line  if  they  were  permitted  to  avail  them 
selves  of  the  use  of  the  water-power  that  could  be 
developed. 

Just  a  word,  in  conclusion,  about  an  investment 


CONSERVING  NATIONAL  RESOURCES  405 

in  permanent  improvements.  Money  spent  in  care 
for  the  life  and  health  of  the  people,  in  protecting 
the  soil  from  erosion  and  from  exhaustion,  in  pre 
venting  waste  in  the  use  of  minerals  of  limited  sup 
ply,  in  the  reclamation  of  deserts  and  of  swamps, 
in  the  preservation  of  forests  still  remaining,  and  in 
the  replanting  of  denuded  tracts — money  invested 
in  these  and  in  the  development  of  waterways  and 
in  the  deepening  of  harbors,  is  an  investment  yield 
ing  an  annual  dividend.  If  any  of  these  expendi 
tures  fail  to  bring  a  return  at  once  the  money  ex 
pended  is  like  a  bequest  to  those  who  come  after 
ward.  And,  as  the  parent  lives  for  his  children  as 
well  as  for  himself,  so  the  citizen  provides  for  the 
future  as  well  as  for  the  present. 

This  conference  will  be  remembered  by  future 
generations,  because  they,  as  well  as  ourselves,  will 
be  the  recipients  of  the  benefits  which  flow  from  it. 
We  have  all  been  strengthened  by  communion 
together ;  our  vision  has  been  enlarged,  and  the  en 
thusiasm  here  aroused  will  permeate  every  State 
and  every  community.  (Great  applause.) 


VI 
COMMERCE 

An  address  delivered  at  the  banquet  given  in  Chicago  on 
October  7,  1908.  by  the  Chicago  Association  of  Commerce, 
Mr.  Taft  and  Mr.  Bryan  being  guests. 

1  APPRECIATE  the  opportunity  of  being  pres 
ent  on  this  occasion.  I  appreciate  the  gener 
ous  words  of  the  chairman  in  presenting  me 
to  you.  I  think  that  it  is  a  good  omen  when  we  can 
lay  aside  partizan  feeling  on  an  occasion  like  this, 
and,  forgetting  the  things  that  separate  us,  remem 
ber  the  things  more  numerous  and  more  important 
that  unite  us  in  the  bonds  of  a  common  citizenship. 

I  think  I  can  see  signs  of  progress  in  politics. 
"When  I  first  began  to  run  for  president  there  were 
no  occasions  of  this  kind.  I  note  a  large  charity,  a 
broader  liberality,  and  a  more  kindly  feeling  than 
has  sometimes  prevailed  in  the  past.  Here,  the 
chairmen  of  the  respective  committees  meet,  will 
ing,  even  in  the  heat  of  the  campaign,  to  pause  for 
a  moment  in  the  giving  out  of  estimates.  Here  the 
treasurers  suspend  for  a  moment  the  investigation 
of  the  business  connections  of  those  who  send  in 
checks;  and  here  "two  distinguished  citizens  at 
large"  meet,  both  uncertain  as  to  which  will  be 
confined. 

We  shall  carry  away  delightful  recollections  of 
this  night,  for,  whatever  the  election  may  show,  we 
can  remember  one  occasion  when  we  were  treated 
with  equal  consideration. 

(406) 


COMMERCE  407 

I  am  glad  to  meet  at  this  board  one  who  has  been 
honored  by  his  party  with  leadership  in  a  great 
campaign.  I  am  glad  to  testify  to  my  appreciation 
of  his  abilities  and  his  virtues.  If  I  am  successful, 
the  victory  will  be  the  greater  to  have  won  over 
such ;  and,  if  I  am  defeated,  the  sorrow  will  be  less 
to  have  been  defeated  by  such. 

I  esteem  it  an  honor  to  be  the  guest  of  this  asso 
ciation  in  this  city.  This  is  the  city  in  which  I 
studied  for  two  years  when  I  was  preparing  for  the 
law.  I  am  better  acquainted  with  Chicago  than 
with  any  other  city,  and  no  one  residing  within  its 
borders  has  a  larger  faith  in  its  future  than  I. 

I  am  honored  to  be  the  guest  of  a  commercial 
association,  for  I  recognize  the  importance  of  com 
merce.  Commerce  is  the  second  step  in  material 
progress.  First  comes  production,  and  then  ex 
change.  Without  exchange,  production  loses  much 
of  its  value.  Those  who  produce  need  commerce, 
and  commerce  cannot  exist  without  production  first. 

Commerce  is  a  great  and  growing  force  in  the 
world.  Commerce  has  contributed  enormously  to 
the  world's  progress  and  to  mankind's  well-being. 
Every  step  in  the  development  of  commerce  is  an 
upward  step.  Commerce  is  today  extending  its 
influence  throughout  the  world  and  binding  people 
together  as  never  before.  Compare  the  possibili 
ties  of  today  with  the  possibilities  of  a  few  cen 
turies  ago,  and  who  will  measure  the  difference? 
Whenever  an  invention  of  importance  is  heralded 
some  one  exclaims  that  it  will  deprive  people  of 
employment,  and  sometimes  the  labor-saving  ma 
chine  is  condemned  because  it  enables  a  few  to  do 


408  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

what  it  formerly  required  many  to  do  in  the  same 
length  of  time.  But  the  labor-saving  machine  is 
rather  a  labor-multiplying  machine.  When  steam 
displaced  the  craft  that  moved  by  oars  it  did  not 
decrease,  but  multiplied,  the  number  of  those  upon 
the  sea.  When  the  steam  engine  took  the  place  of 
the  wagon  it  did  not  displace  those  who  drove  the 
wagons;  it  increased  the  number  of  persons  en 
gaged  in  transportation.  Twelve  years  ago  a  state 
ment  was  made  and  signed  by  the  five  men  who 
stood  at  the  head  of  five  great  railway  orders,  and 
in  that  statement  the  world  was  told  that  800,000 
men  were  engaged  as  employes  in  the  railway  ser 
vice. 

Every  new  invention,  I  repeat,  has  enlarged  the 
demand  for  labor  as  it  has  multiplied  the  efficiency 
of  labor.  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  that  we  have 
yet  recognized  the  duty  of  society  to  bear  some  of 
<the  burdens  that  may  fall  temporarily  on  people 
displaced  by  improvements  that  bring  a  large  gain 
to  society.  I  am  not  sure  that  we  have  yet  recog 
nized  that  when  society  is  the  gainer  society  ought 
to  compensate  those  who  individually  suffer  for  so 
ciety's  benefit.  But  whether  wre  have  found  an 
accurate  adjustment  or  not,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
society  has  largely  gained. 

One  of  the  great  improvements,  one  of  the  in 
ventions  that  has  made  largely  for  the  development 
of  commerce,  is  the  corporate  entity.  The  corpora 
tion  is  a  step  in  advance.  It  enables  people  to  do 
things  jointly  that  they  could  not  do  alone.  It 
relieves  those  who  cooperate  of  the  embarrassment 
of  partnership  and  it  substitutes  larger  opportuni- 


COMMERCE  409 

ties,  and  thus  facilitates  the  work  of  exchange.  No 
one  who  has  estimated  with  intelligence  the  useful 
ness  of  the  corporation  will  for  one  moment  think 
of  destroying  the  power  that  the  corporation  gives 
for  cooperative  effort.  (Applause.) 

But  every  new  step  in  advance  brings  new  re 
sponsibilities.  When  the  railroads  took  the  place 
of  the  turnpike,  laws  were  necessary  that  were  not 
necessary  on  the  highway.  Society,  recognizing 
that  the  railroad  had  become  a  necessity,  adjusted 
itself  to  the  railroad,  and  then  proceeded  by  legis 
lation  to  correct  whatever  abuses  might  arise  in 
the  management  of  the  railroad.  (Applause.)  And 
so  society,  accepting  the  corporation  as  an  estab 
lished  fact,  is  proceeding  to  enact  such  laws  as  may 
be  necessary  to  make  the  corporation  serve  the  pur 
pose  for  which  it  was  created.  I  am  sure  that  the 
members  of  this  association,  organized  for  the  pro 
motion  of  the  city's  interests,  for  the  development 
of  the  city's  commerce  and  for  the  advancement 
of  the  city's  good,  recognize  that  with  the  large 
power  that  corporate  action  gives,  restriction  is 
necessary. 

There  are  many  differences  between  the  natural 
man  and  the  corporate  man.  There  is  a  difference 
in  the  purpose  of  creation.  God  made  man  and 
placed  him  upon  His  footstool  to  carry  out  a  divine 
decree;  man  created  the  corporation  as  a  money 
making  machine.  When  God  made  man  He  did  not 
make  the  tallest  man  much  taller  than  the  shortest ; 
and  He  did  not  make  the  strongest  man  much 
stronger  than  the  weakest;  but  when  the  law  cre 
ates  the  corporate  person  that  person  may  be  an 

II  27 


410  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

hundred,  a  thousand,  ten  thousand,  a  million  times 
stronger  than  the  God-made  man.  When  God  made 
man  He  set  a  limit  to  his  existence,  so  that  if  he 
was  a  bad  man  he  could  not  be  bad  long ;  but  when 
the  corporation  was  created  the  limit  on  age  was 
raised,  and  it  sometimes  projects  itself  through 
generation  after  generation. 

When  God  made  man  He  gave  to  mankind  a  soul 
and  warned  him  that  in  the  next  world  he  would 
be  held  accountable  for  the  deeds  done  in  the  flesh ; 
but  when  man  created  the  corporation  he  could  not 
endow  that  corporation  with  a  soul,  so  that  if  it 
escapes  punishment  here  it  need  not  fear  the  here 
after.  And  this  man-made  giant  has  been  put  forth 
to  compete  with  the  God-made  man.  We  must  as 
sume  that  man  in  creating  the  corporation  had  in. 
view  the  welfare  of  society,  and  the  people  who 
create  must  retain  the  powrer  to  restrict  and  to  con 
trol.  We  can  never  become  so  enthusiastic  over  the 
corporation,  over  its  usefulness,  over  its  possibili 
ties,  as  to  forget  the  God-made  man  who  was  here 
first  and  who  still  remains  a  factor  to  be  considered. 

I  take  it,  then,  that  I  can  assume  that  all  who  are 
interested  in  commerce,  and  interested  in  the  cor 
poration  as  a  means  of  developing  commerce,  will 
recognize  the  necessity  of  making  competition  be 
tween  the  natural  man  and  the  fictitious  person 
approximately  equal  so  that  the  natural  man  may 
not  be  trodden  under  foot. 

Commerce  is  important.  You  can  scarcely  esti 
mate  its  importance,  and  yet  commerce  is  depend 
ent.  In  fact,  my  friends,  the  more  complex  society 
becomes  the  more  dependent  we  are.  We  some- 


COMMERCE  411 

times  speak  of  people  being  independently  rich. 
We  do  not  mean  that;  we  mean  that  they  are  de- 
pendently  rich,  for  the  richer  they  are  the  more 
dependent  they  are.  The  more  a  man  has  the 
more  he  must  employ  to  secure  this  thing  which  he 
calls  wealth.  The  larger  his  annual  income,  the 
larger  the  number  of  people  who  labor  that  he 
may  have  a  part. 

Commerce  cannot  live  without  agriculture.  I 
dare  not  say  on  this  subject  what  I  once  said,  for 
it  is  too  near  the  election  to  hope  to  correct  mis 
representations  that  might  be  made.  I  once  said, 

Burn  your  cities  and  leave  the  farms,  and  the 
cities  will  grow  up  again  as  by  magic ;  but  destroy 
the  farms  and  the  grass  will  grow  in  the  streets  of 
your  cities."  I  said  that  once,  but  I  dare  not  say 
it  again,  for  I  found  after  the  election  that  a  dodger 
had  been  circulated  in  a  distant  State  which  read 
like  this:  "Burn  your  cities.  W.  J.  Bryan." 

But  while  experience  has  taught  me  caution, 
while  I  find  as  others  do  that  advancing  years  bring 
conservatism  in  language,  still  I  am  yet  young 
enough  to  venture  the  assertion  that  the  prairies  of 
the  Middle  West  are  indispensable  to  the  City  on 
the  Lakes.  Not  only  is  commerce  dependent  upon 
the  farmers  who  in  their  fields  convert  God  ?s  bounty  - 
into  a  nation's  wealth,  but  commerce  is  dependent7 
also  upon  those  humble  toilers  who  in  the  factory 
and  on  the  train  are  turning  the  wheels  of  our  in 
dustrial  progress. 

While  we  gather  here  to  enjoy  the  bounties  that 
are  spread  we  are  much  like  the  people  on  the  upper 
decks  of  a  ship  who  ride  peacefully  along  through 


412  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

the  waters  because  down  in  the  hold,  in  the  dark, 
there  are  men  with  bodies  bare  and  hands  soiled 
with  dirt,  keeping  the  fires  burning  while  the  ship 
moves  on. 

The  manufacturer  is  as  dependent  upon  the  men 
whom  he  employs  as  they  are  dependent  upon  him 
for  employment.  The  clerks  in  the  stores,  who  run 
back  and  forth,  who  carry  merchandise  and  keep 
the  accounts,  are  as  necessary  a  part  of  commerce 
as  those  who  preside  and  direct.  The  great  lesson 
that  we  must  learn  is  that  society  cannot  dispense 
with  any  of  the  elements  engaged  in  production. 

We  must  learn  the  great  truth,  that  we  are  linked 
together  by  indissoluble  bonds,  bonds  that  we  should 
not  sever  if  we  could,  bonds  which  we  could  not 
xsever  if  we  would.  And  we  must  learn  that  prog 
ress  cannot  be  measured  by  the  progress  of  a  few, 
but  by  the  advancement  of  the  mass.  On  occasions 
like  this,  I  deem  it  not  inappropriate  to  remind  you, 
as  I  desire  to  be  reminded,  that  we  must  work  to 
gether  if  we  work  at  all. 

Upon  what  basis  can  we  work  ?  There  is  but  one, 
and  that  is  a  basis  that  measures  justly  each  indi 
vidual's  share  of  the  joint  product.  Every  man 
who,  by  his  brain  or  muscle,  contributes  to  the  sum 
total  of  this  nation's  wealth  must  have  a  part  of 
that  wealth  as  his  reward.  He  may  be  a  captain 
of  industry ;  he  may  be  a  general  in  command ;  but, 
my  friends,  there  must  be  a  reasonable  relation  be 
tween  the  pay  of  the  general  and  the  pay  of  the 
enlisted  man,  for  the  general  needs  the  soldier  as 
much  as  the  soldier  needs  the  general. 

To  my  mind,  the  world's  greatest  problem  today 


COMMERCE  413 

is  not  to  correctly  solve  the  questions  about  which 
my  distinguished  friend  and  I  dispute.  These  are 
surface  indications  of  a  larger  problem.  Go  into 
different  lands  and  you  will  find  people  speaking 
many  languages ;  you  will  find  differences  in  dress ; 
you  will  find  differences  in  tradition ;  you  will  find 
differences  in  religion,  and  you  will  find  differences 
in  government,  but  there  is  one  problem  that  is 
universal;  you  encounter  it  everywhere;  it  has  no 
latitude,  it  has  no  longitude.  It  is  not  the  problem 
of  today  or  yesterday  or  tomorrow ;  it  is  the  problem 
that  has  existed  since  man's  race  began,  and  will 
exist  while  time  endures.  That  problem  is  the  ad 
justment  of  the  rewards  of  society.  Upon  the  set 
tlement  of  that  problem  aright  depends  the  future 
of  mankind. 

Is  there  a  Divine  measure  of  rewards?  I  believe 
there  is.  What  is  that  measure?  It  is  the  divine 
measure ;  it  is  the  law  that  God  stamped  upon  the 
world  and  imprest  on  man ;  it  is  the  law  by  which 
society  must  be  governed,  if  governed  aright ;  and 
this  law  is  that  every  citizen  shall  draw  from  so 
ciety  a  reward  proportionate  to  the  service  that  he 
renders  to  society.  And  in  proportion  as  we  ap 
proximate  to  the  right  solution  of  that  problem  will 
W7e  place  progress  upon  a  sure  and  permanent  foun 
dation. 

I  think  it  is  well  that  we  should  gather  here 
from  all  parts  of  this  Union,  for  better  acquaint 
ance  will  make  us  better  friends.  It  is  wrell  that 
we  should  meet  together  as  the  representatives  of 
different  parties  for  the  more  we  know  of  each 
other,  the  more  we  are  convinced  that,  whatever 


414  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

our  differences  may  be,  our  impulses  are  the  same 
and  that  patriotism  is  stronger  in  all  of  us  than  the 
partisanship  that  separates  us. 

It  would  also  be  well  if  we  could  more  frequently 
mingle  together  as  the  representatives  of  differ 
ent  occupations,  of  different  work,  of  different  ele 
ments  of  our  industrial  population.  For  I  am  satis 
fied  that,  if  the  people  could  meet  each  other  face 
to  face,  and  know  each  other,  heart  knowing  heart, 
an  impetus  would  be  given  to  a  larger  brotherhood ; 
and  that,  instead  of  being  actuated  by  -that  short 
sighted  selfishness  that  leads  one  to  try  to  lift  him 
self  upon  the  prostrate  form  of  another,  we  would 
learn  that  the  broadest  selfishness,  the  most  far- 
sighted  self-interest,  is  embraced  in  the  command 
ment: 

"Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself." 


VII 
TO   HIS   NEIGHBORS 

Delivered  at  Lincoln.  Xeb..  on  November  2,  1908,  as  the 
closing  speech  of  the  campaign. 

I  SHALL  not  make  a  political  speech  tonight. 
After  such  a  generous  welcome,  I  prefer  to 
speak  to  you  as  a  man  to  those  who  live  be 
side  him.  There  are  unpleasant  experiences  in 
public  life,  but  its  rewards  far  outweigh  them,  and 
nothing  has  occurred  in  my  life  that  I  appreciate 
more  than  the  cordial  reception  that  you  have  given 
me  in  my  home  city  at  the  close  of  this  campaign. 
To  have  lived  among  you  with  the  publicity  that 
attaches  to  a  presidential  campaign,  and  then  to 
have  such  evidence  of  your  good  will,  makes  this 
night  memorable.  While  it  has  sometimes  been 
humiliating  to  have  it  thrown  up  to  me  in  other 
parts  of  the  country  that  my  home  city  has  never 
given  me  a  majority 

Voices :    We  shall  give  it  to  you  this  time. 

Thank  you.  While  I  repeat,  it  has  been  humiliat 
ing,  yet,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  I  have  always  had  a 
large  complimentary  vote  from  the  Republicans  of 
Lincoln.  When  I  ran  for  Congress  in  1890,  I  was 
defeated  in  this  county  by  only  a  little  more  than 
400,  and  when  I  ran  for  Congress  again  in  1892,  I 
was  defeated  in  this  county  by  only  a  little  more 
than  300 ;  and  even  in  the  heat  of  presidential  cam- 
(415) 


416  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

paigns,  I  have  always  had  a  large  number  of  votes 
from  men  who  were  not  connected  with  the  political 
party  of  which  I  am  a  member.  If  this  fact  were 
known,  there  would  not  have  been  so  much  criticism 
of  the  fact  that  I  have  never  carried  this  city  with 
its  large  normal  Republican  majority.  I  want  to 
thank  the  Republicans,  who,  in  the  past,  have  given 
me  their  votes.  Without  the  votes  of  many  Re 
publicans  I  would  not  have  been  elected  in  1892,  for 
my  majority  was  only  140;  and  without  that  elec 
tion  I  would  not  have  been  nominated  for  the  presi 
dency  in  1896.  I  can  feel  grateful,  therefore,  to 
the  Republicans  who  gave  me  my  start,  and  whose 
votes  were  absolutely  necessary  to  my  election  on 
that  occasion.  Whatever  the  Republicans  of  Lin 
coln  may  do  in  the  future,  they  have  done  enough 
in  the  past,  by  laying  the  foundation  for  my  politi 
cal  career,  to  make  me  their  debtor  while  I  live. 
My  friends,  I  am  at  the  end  of  my  third  presi 
dential  campaign.  Tomorrow  15,000,000  of  voters 
will  decide  whether  I  am  to  occupy  the  seat  that 
-Washington  and  Jefferson  and  Jackson  and  Lin 
coln  occupied.  You  will  have  your  part  in  my 
victory  or  in  my  defeat.  It  may  be  that  the  elec 
tion  will  turn  on  Nebraska,  and  it  may  be  that  Ne 
braska  will  turn  on  votes,  so  few  in  number  that 
the  city  of  Lincoln  may  decide  the  result.  If  fate 
decrees  that  my  name  shall  be  added  to  the  list  of 
Presidents,  and  Nebraska  added  to  the  list  of 
States  that  have  furnished  Presidents,  I  shall  re 
joice  with  you.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  election 
shall  be  against  me,  I  can  feel  that  I  have  left 
nothing  undone  that  I  could  have  done  to  bring 


TO  HIS  NEIGHBORS  417 

success  to  my  cause.  And  I  shall  find  private  life 
so  full  of  joy  that  I  shall  not  miss  the  presidency. 

I  have  been  the  child  of  fortune  from  my  birth. 
God  gave  me  into  the  keeping  of  a  Christian  father 
and  a  Christian  mother.  They  implanted  in  my 
heart  the  ideals  that  have  guided  my  life.  When 
I  was  in  law  school,  I  was  fortunate  enough,  as  I 
was  in  my  college  days,  to  fall  under  the  influence 
of  men  of  ideals  who  helped  to  shape  my  course ; 
and  when  but  a  young  man,  not  out  of  college  yet, 
I  was  guided  to  the  selection  of  one  who,  for 
twenty-four  years,  has  been  my  faithful  helpmate. 
No  presidential  victory  could  have  brought  her  to 
me,  and  no  defeat  can  take  her  from  me.  I  have 
been  blessed  with  a  family.  Our  children  are  with 
us  to  make  glad  the  declining  years  of  their  mother 
and  myself.  When  you  first  knew  me,  they  called 
me,  in  derision,  "The  Boy  Orator  of  the  Platte." 
I  have  outlived  that  title,  and  my  grandchildren 
are  now  growing  up  about  me.  I  repeat,  that  I 
have  been  fortunate,  indeed.  I  have  been  abund 
antly  rewarded  for  what  little  I  have  been  able  to 
do,  and  my  ambition  is  not  so  much  to  hold  any 
office,  however  great,  as  it  is  to  know  my  duty  and 
to  do  it,  wliether  in  public  life  or  as  a  private 
citizen. 

If  I  am  elected,  I  shall  be  absent  from  you  but 
four  years.  If  I  am  defeated,  you  will  help  me  to 
bear  my  defeat.  xVnd  I  assure  you  that  the  affec 
tion  that  my  countrymen  have  shown  is  to  me 
dearer  than  all  earthly  office.  I  shall  be  content,  if 
I  can  deserve  the  continuation  of  that  affection.  I 
have  been  touched  by  the  demonstrations  that  have 


418  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

been  given  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  but  in 
twelve  years  and  in  three  campaigns,  I  have  never 
had  a  welcome  anywhere  more  generous,  more  en 
thusiastic  than  you  have  given  in  Lincoln  tonight. 
I  believe  I  am  going  to  be  elected.  More  than 
that,  I  believe  it  is  going  to  be  more  than  a  bare  vic 
tory;  I  believe  that  there  is  a  stirring  of  the  con 
science  of  the  American  people,  a  moral  awaken 
ing,  an  uprising  that  means  a  sweeping  victory. 
But  that  victory  would  be  robbed  of  much  of  its 
sweetness  if  it  were  won  outside  of  Nebraska  en 
tirely;  that  victory  would  lack  much  if  Lincoln 
did  not  contribute  to  it;  it  would  be  robbed  of 
much  of  its  sweetness  if  my  little  precinct  at 
Normal  did  not  contribute  to  it.  It  will  make  life 
among  you*  more  pleasant  if  I  can  feel  that  this 
city  has  at  last  relieved  me  of  the  sneers  and 
criticism  that  are  hurled  at  me  when  I  travel.  If 
you,  among  whom  I  have  lived ;  if  you,  who  have 
known  my  every  word  and  thought  and  act — if  you 
believe  me  worthy  of  that  high  office,  I  will  swear 
in  your  presence  that  no  one  who  votes  for  me  will 
ever  have  occasion  to  be  ashamed  of  the  vote  he 
casts. 


VIII 
LINCOLN  AS  AN   ORATOR 

Delivered  at  Springfield,  111.,  on  February  12,  1909,  the 
one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Abraham  Lin 
coln. 

LINCOLN'S  fame  as  a  statesman  and  as  the 
Nation's  chief  executive  during  its  most 
crucial  period  has  so  overshadowed  his 
fame  as  an  orator  that  his  merits  as  a  public 
speaker  have  not  been  sufficiently  emphasized. 
When  it  is  remembered  that  his  nomination  was 
directly  due  to  the  prominence  which  he  won 
upon  the  stump;  that  in  a  remarkable  series 
of  debates  he  held  his  own  against  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  orators  America  has  produced;  and 
that  to  his  speeches,  more  than  to  the  arguments  of 
any  other  one  man,  or,  in  fact,  of  all  other  public 
men  combined,  was  due  the  success  of  his  party — 
when  all  these  facts  are  borne  in  mind,  it  will  ap 
pear  plain,  even  to  the  casual  observer,  that  too 
little  attention  has  been  given  to  the  extraordinary 
power  which  he  exercised  as  a  speaker.  That  his 
nomination  was  due  to  the  effect  that  his  speeches 
produced,  cannot  be  disputed.  When  he  began 
his  fight  against  slavery  in  1858,  lie  was  but  little 
known  outside  of  the  counties  in  which  he  at 
tended  court.  It  is  true  that  he  had  been  a  mem 
ber  of  Congress  some  years  before,  but  at  that 
time  he  was  not  stirred  by  any  great  emotion  or 
(419) 


420  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

connected  with  the  discussion  of  any  important 
theme,  and  he  made  but  little  impression  upon 
National  politics.  The  threatened  extension  of 
slavery,  however,  aroused  him,  and  with  a  cause 
which  justified  his  best  efforts,  he  threw  his  whole 
soul  into  the  fight.  The  debates  with  Douglas  have 
never  had  a  parallel  in  this,  or,  so  far  as  history 
shows,  in  any  other  country. 

In  engaging  in  this  contest  with  Douglas,  he  met 
a  foeman  worthy  of  his  steel,  for  Douglas  had 
gained  a  deserved  reputation  as  a  great  debater, 
and  recognized  that  his  future  depended  upon  the 
success  with  which  he  met  the  attacks  of  Lincoln. 
On  one  side  an  institution  supported  by  history 
and  tradition,  and  on  the  other  a  growing  senti 
ment  against  the  holding  of  a  human  being  in 
bondage — these  presented  a  supreme  issue.  Douglas 
won  the  senatorial  seat  for  which  the  two  at  that 
time  had  contested,  but  Lincoln  won  a  larger  vic 
tory — he  helped  to  mold  the  sentiment  that  was 
dividing  parties  and  re-arranging  the  political  map 
of  the  country.  When  the  debates  were  concluded, 
every  one  recognized  him  as  the  leader  of  the  cause 
which  he  had  espoused,  and  it  was  a  recognition 
of  this  leadership  which  he  had  secured  through  his 
public  speeches  that  enabled  him,  a  Western  man, 
to  be  nominated  over  the  Eastern  candidates — not 
only  a  Western  man,  but  a  man  lacking  in  book 
learning  and  the  polish  of  the  schools.  No  other 
American  President  has  ever  so  clearly  owed  his 
elevation  to  his  oratory.  Washington,  Jefferson 
and  Jackson,  the  Presidents  usually  mentioned  in 
connection  with  him,  were  all  poor  speakers. 


LINCOLN  AS  AN  ORATOR  421 

In  analyzing  Lincoln's  characteristics  as  a 
speaker,  one  is  imprest  with  the  completeness  of 
his  equipment.  He  possest  the  two  things  that  are 
absolutely  essential  to  effective  speaking — namely, 
information  and  earnestness.  If  one  can  be  called 
eloquent  who  knows  what  he  is  talking  about  and 
means  what  he  says — and  I  know  of  no  better 
definition — Lincoln's  speeches  were  eloquent.  He 
was  thoroughly  informed  upon  the  subject ;  he  was 
prepared  to  meet  his  opponent  upon  the  general 
proposition  discust,  and  upon  any  deductions  which 
could  be  drawn  from  it.  There  was  no  unexplored 
field  into  which  his  adversary  could  lead  him;  he 
had  carefully  examined  every  foot  of  the  ground, 
and  was  not  afraid  of  pitfall  or  ambush,  and  what 
was  equalty  important,  he  spoke  from  his  own 
heart  to  the  hearts  of  those  who  listened.  While 
the  printed  page  can  not  fully  reproduce  the  im 
pressions  made  by  a  voice  trembling  with  emotion 
or  tender  with  pathos,  one  cannot  read  the  reports 
of  the  debates  without  feeling  that  Lincoln  re 
garded  the  subject  as  far  transcending  the  ambi 
tions  of  the  personal  interests  of  the  debaters.  It 
was  of  little  moment,  he  said,  whether  they  voted 
him  or  Judge  Douglas  up  or  down,  but  it  was 
tremendously  important  that  the  question  should 
be  decided  rightly.  His  reputation  may  have  suf 
fered  in  the  opinion  of  some,  because  he  made  them 
think  so  deeply  upon  what  he  said  that  they,  for 
the  moment,  forgot  him  altogether,  and  yet,  is  this 
not  the  very  perfection  of  speech?  It  is  the  pur 
pose  of  the  orator  to  persuade,  and  to  do  this  he 
presents,  not  himself,  but  his  subjects!  Someone,  in 


422  BRYAN 'S  SPEECHES 

describing  the  difference  between  Demosthenes  and 
Cicero,  said  that  "when  Cicero  spoke,  people  said, 
'How  well  Cicero  speaks;'  but  when  Demosthenes 
spoke,  they  said,  'Let  us  go  against  Philip/  "  j  In 
proportion  as  one  can  forget  himself  and  become 
wholly  absorbed  in  the  cause  which  he  is  present 
ing  does  he  measure  up  to  the  requirements  of  ora 
tory. 

In  addition  to  the  two  essentials,  Lincoln  possest 
what  may  be  called  the  secondary  aids  to  oratory. 
He  was  a  master  of  statement.  Few  have  equalled 
him  in  the  ability  to  strip  a  truth  of  surplus 
verbiage  and  present  it  in  its  naked  strength.  In 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  we  read  that  there 
are  certain  self-evident  truths,  which  are  therein 
enumerated.  If  I  were  going  to  amend  the  proposi 
tion,  I  would  say  that  all  truth  is  self-evident.  Not 
that  any  truth  will  be  universally  accepted,  for  not 
all  are  in  a  position  or  in  an  attitude  to  accept  any 
given  truth.  In  the  interpretation  of  the  parable 
of  the  sower,  we  are  told  that  "the  cares  of  this 
world  and  the  deceitfulness  of  riches  choke  the 
truth,"  and  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  every 
truth  has  these  or  other  difficulties  to  contend  with. 
But  a  truth  may  be  so  clearly  stated  that  it  will 
commend  itself  to  anyone  who  has  not  some  special 
reason  for  rejecting  it. 

No  one  has  more  clearly  stated  the  fundamental 
objections  to  slavery  than  Lincoln  stated  them,  and 
he  had  a  great  advantage  over  his  opponent  in  be 
ing  able  to  state  those  objections  frankly,  for  Judge 
Douglas  neither  denounced  nor  defended  slavery  as 
an  institution — his  plan  embodied  a  compromise, 


LINCOLN  AS  AN  ORATOR  423 

and  he  could  not  discuss  slavery  upon  its  merits 
without  alienating  either  the  slave  owner  or  the 
abolitionist. 

Brevity  is  the  soul  of  wit,  and  a  part  of  Lincoln 's 
reputation  for  wit  lies  in  his  ability  to  condense 
a  great  deal  into  a  few  words.  He  was  epigram 
matic.  A  molder  of  thought  is  not  necessarily  an 
originator  of  the  thought  molded.  Just  as  lead 
molded  into  the  form  of  bullets  has  its  effective 
ness  increased,  so  thought  may  have  its  propagating 
power  enormously  increased  by  being  molded  into 
a  form  that  the  eye  catches  and  the  memory  holds. 
Lincoln  was  the  spokesman  of  his  party — he  gave 
felicitous  expression  to  the  thoughts  of  his  fol 
lowers. 

His  Gettysburg  speech  is  not  surpassed,  if 
equalled,  in  beauty,  simplicity,  force  and  appro 
priateness  by  any  speech  of  the  same  length  of  any 
language.  It  is  the  world's  model  in  eloquence, 
elegance  and  condensation.  He  might  safely  rest 
his  reputation  as  an  orator  on  that  speech  alone. 

He  was  apt  in  illustration — no  one  more  so.  A 
simple  story  or  simile  drawn  from  every-day  life 
flashed  before  his  hearers  the  argument  that  he 
wanted  to  present.  He  did  not  speak  over  the  heads 
of  his  hearers,  and  yet  his  language  was  never  com 
monplace.  There  is  strength  in  simplicity,  and  Lin 
coln's  style  was  simplicity  itself. 

He  understood  the  power  of  the  interrogatory, 
for  some  of  his  most  powerful  arguments  were  con 
densed  into  questions.  Of  all  those  who  discust 
the  evils  of  separation  and  the  advantages  to  be 
derived  from  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  no  one 


424  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

ever  put  the  matter  more  forcibly  than  Lincoln 
did  when,  referring  to  the  possibility  of  war  and 
the  certainty  of  peace  some  time,  even  if  the  Union 
was  divided,  he  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
same  question  would  have  to  be  dealt  with,  and  then 
asked :  '  *  Can  enemies  make  treaties  easier  than 
friends  can  make  laws?" 

He  made  frequent  use  of  Bible  language  and  of 
illustrations  drawn  from  Holy  Writ.  It  is  said 
that  when  he  was  preparing  his  Springfield  speech 
of  1858,  he  spent  hours  trying  to  find  language  that 
would  express  the  idea  that  dominated  his  entire 
career — namiely,  that  a  republic  could  not  perma 
nently  endure  half  free  and  half  slave,-  and  that 
finally  a  Bible  passage  flashed  through  his  mind, 
and  he  exclaimed:  "I  have  found  it!  'A  house 
divided  against  itself  can  not  stand.'  :  And  prob 
ably  no  other  Bible  passage  ever  exerted  as  much 
influence  as  this  one  in  the  settlement  of  a  great 
controversy. 

I  have  enumerated  some,  not  all — but  the  more 
important — of  his  characteristics  as  an  orator,  and 
on  this  day  I  venture  for  the  moment  to  turn  the 
thoughts  of  this  audience  away  from  the  great  work 
that  he  accomplished  as  a  patriot,  away  from  his 
achievements  in  the  line  of  statecraft,  to  the  means 
employed  by  him  to  bring  before  the  public  the 
ideas  which  attracted  attention  to  him.  His  power 
as  a  public  speaker  was  the  foundation  of  his  suc 
cess,  and  while  it  is  obscured  by  the  superstructure 
that  was  reared  upon  it,  it  cannot  be  entirely  over 
looked  as  the  returning  anniversary  of  his  birth 
calls  increasing  attention  to  the  widening  influence 


DREAMERS  427 

to  do  the  work  I  want  to  do,  but  when  I  quote 
scripture  and  they  attack  my  authority,  I  can  let 
them  fight  it  out  with  the  Bible  while  I  go  on  about 
any  business. 

The  Bible  tells  of  dreamers,  and  among  the  most 
conspicuous  was  Joseph.  He  told  his  dreams  to  his 
brothers,  and  his  brothers  hated  him  because  of  his 
dreams.  And  one  day  when  his  father  sent  him  out 
,where  his  brothers  were  keeping  their  flocks  in 
Dothan,  they  saw  him  coming  afar  off  and  said: 
"Behold,  the  dreamer  cometh."  They  plotted  to 
kill  him — and  he  is  not  the  only  dreamer  who  has 
been  plotted  against  in  this  old  world.  But  finally 
they  decided  that  instead  of  killing  him  they  would 
put  him  down  in  a  pit,  but  some  merchants  passing 
that  way,  the  brothers  decided  to  sell  him  to  the 
merchants,  and  the  merchants  carried  Joseph  down 
into  Egypt, 

The  brothers  deceived  their  father  and  made  him 
think  the  wild  beasts  had  devoured  his  son. 

Time  went  on  and  the  brothers  had  almost  for 
gotten  the  dreamer  Joseph.    But  a  famine  eame- 
yes,  a  famine — and  then  they  had  to  go  down  into 
Egypt  and  buy  corn,  and  when  they  got  there,  they 
found  the  dreamer — and  he  had  the  corn. 

So  1  decided  that  it  was  not  so  bad  after  all  for 
one  to  be  a  dreamer — if  one  has  the  corn. 

But  the  more  I  thought  of  the  dreamer's  place  in 
history,  the  less  I  felt  entitled  to  the  distinction. 

John  Boyle  O'Reilly  says  that 

"The  dreamer  lives  forever, 
While  the  toiler  dies  in  a  day." 

And  is  it  not  true  ? 


428  BRYAN'S  SPEECHES 

In  traveling  through  Europe  you  find  great 
cathedrals,  and  back  of  each  there  was  a  dreamer. 
An  architect  had  a  vision  of  a  temple  of  worship 
and  he  put  that  vision  upon  paper.  Then  the  build 
ers  began,  and  they  laid  stone  upon  stone  and  brick 
upon  brick  until  finally  the  temple  was  completed 
— completed  sometimes  centuries  after  the  dream 
er  's  death.  And  people  now  travel  from  all  corners 
of  the  world  to  look  upon  the  temple,  and  the  name 
of  the  dreamer  is  known  while  the  names  of  the 
toilers  are  forgotten. 

No,  I  cannot  claim  a  place  among  the  dreamers, 
but  there  has  been  a  greatjireamer  in  the  realm  of 
statesmanship — Thomas  J^rraShn..  He  saw  a  peo 
ple  bowed  beneath  oppression  and  he  had  a  vision 
of  a  self-governing  nation,  in  which  every  citizen 
would  be  a  sovereign.  He  put  his  vision  upon  pa 
per  and  for  more  than  a  century  multitudes  have 
been  building.  They  are  building  at  this  temple 
in  every  nation ;  some  day  it  will  be  completed  and 
then  the  people  of  all  the  world  will  find  protection 
beneath  its  roof  and  security  within  its  walls.  I 
shall  be  content  if,  when  my  days  are  numbered,  it 
can  be  truthfully  said  of  me  that  with  such  ability 
as  I  possest,  and  whenever  opportunity  offered,  I 
labored  faithfully  with  the  multitude  to  build  this 
building  higher  in  my  time. 


BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


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